It's finally 2020, which means the city is in full Olympic swing. While the majority of us are hitting the ski slopes near Tokyo or enjoying the winter festivities in the city, the Olympic Committee is hard at work.
Photo: Tokyo 2020
To drum up excitement for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic games, the IOC asked 20 domestic and international artists from various disciplines – art, manga, film, graphic design and calligraphy – to create movie-like posters for the milestone event in summer.
Photo: Tokyo 2020
From the auspicious black-and-gold Japanese calligraphy art in 'Fly High!' by Shoko Kanazawa to Akira Yamaguchi's fantastical 'Horseback Archery' painting, here are our favourites.
Photo: Tokyo 2020
The designer of the official Olympic and Paralympic logos, Asao Tokolo created the 'Harmonized Chequered Emblem Study for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games [Even Edged Matters Could Form Harmonized Circle with 'Rule']', a poster using mathematical precision to execute a much more intricate version of his now iconic design for Tokyo 2020. His pattern, entitled Kumi-ichimatsu-mon, features 'equal numbers of rectangles obtained by connecting the middle points of rhombuses'.
Photo: Tokyo 2020
Film director Mika Ninagawa created 'Higher than the Rainbow', a cinema-inspired poster starring wheelchair basketball player Renshi Chokai elevated in the sky. The poster conveys Ninagawa's simple yet profound message: para-athletes are cool.
Photo: Tokyo 2020
Naoki Urasawa, a manga artist best known for his comics ‘Monster’ and ‘20th Century Boys’, created 'Now It's Your Turn!', a mini-manga honouring both the Olympics and Japan’s love for sports comic. The final panel, which says 'to be continued', creates a climactic lead-in towards the Games.
Photo: Tokyo 2020
Inspired by the ukiyo-e classic ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’, Hirohiko Araki created 'The Sky above The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa'. The '80s anime-style composition stars two para-athletes en route to Mt Fuji.
The posters are currently on display at the entrance hall of the Museum of Contemporary Art until February 16.
Check out more posters on the official Tokyo 2020 website. Interested in more art? Don't forget to check out these winter exhibitions.