Details

The Pop era of the 1970s and 1980s that popularized the erotic work of Tom Wesselmann and Masami Teraoka certainly laid the groundwork for the success of Yoshio Okada's erotic-inspired woodblock prints. Not much is known about this mysterious artist beyond that he rose to notoriety in the 1970s with sexually charged prints featuring an array of bijin-ga, or images of beautiful women, set in various subjects and periods.

In this design, Okada's voluptuous beauty is a contemporary bikini-clad surfer set inside the tube of a giant wave. The scene showcases the apex of the sport, while the woman's soft resigned gaze and closed eyes may suggest another type of climatic experience. The shape, orientation, and coloration of the surfboard may be suggestive of a phallus, while the manner in which a woman's foot is rendered at the lower left end of the surfboard (right below her posterior) may restate the suggestion. The tubular wave is rendered collapsing onto itself in a white foamy discharge, further punctuating the moment.

Connoisseur's Note

This highly evocative design is considered Okada's most sought-after print. It was published in a single edition of 100 in 1974. The work was quite popular at its onset and continues to be a design collectors interested in contemporary pop and erotica covet.