Abstract

A Global Artist Reaches the Pinnacle at 88!
To Grow Bored is to "Become Free"

"Couldn’t the ultimate luxury of aging be to live a life where curiosity, ambition, and even strange desires fade, leaving you to bask aimlessly in the sunlight? A way of life that almost seems as if one has grown weary of life itself."
(Excerpt from the text)

In The Aesthetics of Boredom, Tadanori Yokoo reinterprets the phenomenon of "boredom" as an aesthetic, portraying even the monotony and tedium of daily life as something valuable. He delves into the new creativity, freedom, and spiritual richness that can be discovered through boredom.

Throughout the chapters, Yokoo emphasizes the importance of living authentically, adopting an attitude that accepts illness and aging as natural occurrences, and gaining insight into the perpetual cycle of life and death. He also highlights the need for playfulness and creative space in life, exemplified through the allure of cats and works of art.

For Yokoo, the state of "boredom" is, paradoxically, the most proactive and creative choice. Through this perspective, he invites readers to confront their inner selves. This work is an exploration of the profound aesthetics and philosophy hidden within the often-overlooked sensation of "boredom," which modern people tend to forget.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Living as You Are
Chapter 2: Thinking Nothing, Seeking Nothing
Chapter 3: Illness and Health, Let Things Be
Chapter 4: No Boundary Between Life and Death
Chapter 5: The Mysterious Existence of Cats
Chapter 6: What Is Art?
Chapter 7: Life Is Forever Play

Author’s Information

Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1936. A visual artist.
Held a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1972. Since then, he has participated in numerous international biennales in cities such as Paris, Venice, and São Paulo, and has held solo exhibitions at art museums both in Japan and abroad.
In 2012, the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Contemporary Art named after him—the Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art—was opened, followed by the Teshima Yokoo House in 2013.

Among his major honors and awards are the Mainichi Art Award, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, the Asahi Prize, and the Praemium Imperiale in Honor of Prince Takamatsu.
He was named an Honorary Citizen of Tokyo in 2020 and selected as a Member of the Japan Art Academy and a Person of Cultural Merit in 2023.

His notable publications include the novel Blue Land (winner of the Izumi Kyōka Literary Prize), Letting Go of Words (winner of the Kodansha Essay Award), and The Primal Forest, among others.