![]() ![]() What better book to begin a Moriyama photobook exploration with than Nippon Gekijō Shashinchō / Japan: A Photo Theater (1968) – his very first book and the book that began my husband’s and my Japanese photobook collection. to explore the visual and conceptual trajectory of Moriyama’s photobooks over a 44-year period. Providing an incredible resource for the ICP community, photographers and scholars, this collection offers the first opportunity in the U.S. With the monumental task of cataloging the 42-book donation now smoothly underway, librarian Matthew Carson has put together a very thorough Moriyama bibliography. To commemorate his ICP Infinity Award, several generous donors, with the assistance of ICP curator Christopher Phillips, Ivan Vartanian from Goliga Books and Akio Nagasawa from the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation, have made it possible for the ICP Library to assemble the most comprehensive collection of Daido Moriyama photobooks outside of Japan. Now, with the passage of several New York solo shows and his winning of the 2012 ICP Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement, Moriyama has finally been recognized beyond Japan as one of the leading photographers of the second half of the 20 th century. At the time, the name Daido Moriyama was hardly familiar within American photographic circles. A deal was made, the book was purchased, and our Japanese photobook obsession launched. ![]() It didn’t take much effort for the gallerist to convince my husband that this photobook was unlike any other photography book he had ever seen. Included in the photobook selection was Moriyama’s very first book, Nippon Gekijō Shashinchō / Japan: A Photo Theater (1968). On view that September evening, at the reception attended by Moriyama, was a prominently positioned case filled with many of Moriyama’s seminal Provoke Era photobooks from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, along with photographs on the wall from his first trip to New York City with graphic designer Tadanori Yokoo. In 2002, he attended a gallery opening for `71-NY: Photographs by Daido Moriyama, an exhibition that took the then risky stance of presenting both photographs and photobooks as equals within a gallery installation. At the time, 10 years ago now, neither of us knew that this seemingly innocent purchase would signal the beginning of what we now fondly refer to as our Japanese photobook acquisition disorder. In fact, I remember it very well because it was also the very first Japanese photobook we ever bought. The blister has been slit-open, and the book opened for browsing by Yours Truly is it new and in mint condition.I remember my husband’s purchase of our first Daido Moriyama photobook. The book, limited to an edition of 700, is numbered and signed by Daido Moriyama. This 2018 release is the first to feature English translations of Shuji Terayama's writings. On invitation of Japanese writer Shuji Terayama, Moriyama began photographing members of a traveling theater group, adding shots of dwarf show dancers, strip clubs, street performers, fetuses in formaldehyde containers and other motifs. Originally published in 1968 – the year which also saw the launch of the influential Provoke magazine – the book already demonstrates Moriyama's trademark visual style. " The very first photobook by legendary Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, Japan: A Photo Theater, is finally available again in a renewed edition. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |