Green belt: Imako Tanaka, “Hiroshima Keith Haring Saw,” Part 1
Apr. 19, 2025
Keith Haring and Hiroshima. I began to explore the connection between the city and this person who had not been discussed in depth before, after re-listening to an interview once conducted by a curator of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection museum, where I work.
In July 2023, I was preparing for an exhibition scheduled for the following month. At this museum, a campaign addressing social issues is held each season, and August is designated as a month to reflect on peace through Haring’s works. That year, I was planning to present the posters Haring created in 1988 for the Hiroshima concert, along with an interview conducted in 2010 with then-chief curator Yoshiaki Hanazawa, owner of the Picasso Gabo, a long-established art materials shop in Hiroshima.
“The president of a music event company in Hiroshima came and said, ‘That painter wants to leave his work, a symbol of peace, in Hiroshima because he can contribute to peace only through his art, but I’m not familiar with the art world, so could you introduce me to someone?’ I said, ‘I don’t know who he is, but I’ll help him.’ I think it was around summer.”
Haring had aspired to paint a mural in Hiroshima. Why did it go unrealized? The words I once heard from Mr. Hanazawa lingered in my mind for some reason. (Imako Tanaka, chief curator of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection in Yamanashi Prefecture)
(Originally published on April 19, 2025)
In July 2023, I was preparing for an exhibition scheduled for the following month. At this museum, a campaign addressing social issues is held each season, and August is designated as a month to reflect on peace through Haring’s works. That year, I was planning to present the posters Haring created in 1988 for the Hiroshima concert, along with an interview conducted in 2010 with then-chief curator Yoshiaki Hanazawa, owner of the Picasso Gabo, a long-established art materials shop in Hiroshima.
“The president of a music event company in Hiroshima came and said, ‘That painter wants to leave his work, a symbol of peace, in Hiroshima because he can contribute to peace only through his art, but I’m not familiar with the art world, so could you introduce me to someone?’ I said, ‘I don’t know who he is, but I’ll help him.’ I think it was around summer.”
Haring had aspired to paint a mural in Hiroshima. Why did it go unrealized? The words I once heard from Mr. Hanazawa lingered in my mind for some reason. (Imako Tanaka, chief curator of the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection in Yamanashi Prefecture)
(Originally published on April 19, 2025)
