I tried to figure out where or how in Tokyo was the black reality Moriyama and other Japanese photographers represent. Besides the fact that Moriyama work is rather invisible: his name unknown, his books hardly found, I wasn’t able to meet that reality on the streets. Yes, my visit short, my knowledge short too, the city immense. But
Although I'm not sure I'd agree with you on Moriyama being invisible or unknown, I too used to wonder where the grit and abstraction came from. Japanese amateur photography competitions and subcultures dating back to the late '60s and early '70s were already showcasing a fair amount of it, at a time when the nation's outward appearance to the world was much more colourful and traditional in terms of an overall aesthetic. Yasuhiro Ogawa's powerful body of work certainly comes to mind. Spend enough time in a place, no matter how colourful it may seem on the surface, and its layers begin to truly unravel.
Not keen in Japanese photography, at least some names like Sugimoto, Araki, Ueda, Fukase and Moriyama arrived though (thanks for the new one). Very different, all b&w and perhaps with a common skeptic cast. Moriyama specially of my interest in the last times. Perhaps we photographers think great names are part of the popular culture, but most people in Tokyo never heard about Moriyama same as in this other part of the world about Kertesz. Japan is a colorful country I know very little about, just tried to understand a bit the point of that blackness
I tried to figure out where or how in Tokyo was the black reality Moriyama and other Japanese photographers represent. Besides the fact that Moriyama work is rather invisible: his name unknown, his books hardly found, I wasn’t able to meet that reality on the streets. Yes, my visit short, my knowledge short too, the city immense. But
Although I'm not sure I'd agree with you on Moriyama being invisible or unknown, I too used to wonder where the grit and abstraction came from. Japanese amateur photography competitions and subcultures dating back to the late '60s and early '70s were already showcasing a fair amount of it, at a time when the nation's outward appearance to the world was much more colourful and traditional in terms of an overall aesthetic. Yasuhiro Ogawa's powerful body of work certainly comes to mind. Spend enough time in a place, no matter how colourful it may seem on the surface, and its layers begin to truly unravel.
Not keen in Japanese photography, at least some names like Sugimoto, Araki, Ueda, Fukase and Moriyama arrived though (thanks for the new one). Very different, all b&w and perhaps with a common skeptic cast. Moriyama specially of my interest in the last times. Perhaps we photographers think great names are part of the popular culture, but most people in Tokyo never heard about Moriyama same as in this other part of the world about Kertesz. Japan is a colorful country I know very little about, just tried to understand a bit the point of that blackness
Love those. The high contrast seems to fit the place perfectly. Totally alien to me, but very interesting.
Thank you, Cedric. Familiarity leads to contempt—or so they say—so then alien is good and interesting indeed!
What a beautiful portrait of a rich and beautifully complex city!
Seeing it without the color delivers such a dramatic view.
Thank you for that, Chris. I appreciate it.