Category / Photobook

ISSEI SUDA | "Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo", from the series "Human Memory" (Ningen no Kioku), 1984
by Ferdinand Brueggemann

Issei Suda, a Master of Japanese Photography | Interview Roland Angst with Ferdinand Brueggemann | Part 2

Previously I had posted an interview I did with Mariko Takeuchi on Japanese photography, this time I am posting an interview the Berlin publisher Roland Angst did with me on the Japanese photographer Issei Suda for the first Western monograph in the artist.
Suda is slowly becoming more popular in the West[1]At GALERIE PRISKA PASQUER we introduced Issei Suda’s work with two solo exhibitions in 2009 and 2013 and frequent presentations at fairs like Paris Photo, AIPAD New York and … Continue reading with his distinct but mysterious 1970s work as a kind of antithesis to the raw energy of the Provoke photography.  

[Part I of the interview]

Issei Suda, a Master of Japanese Photography | Interview by Roland Angst with Ferdinand Brueggemann

Published in: “Issei Suda – The Work of a Lifetime – Photographs 1968 – 2006“, Only Photography, Berlin, 2011

 

RA: Is it correct to say that Suda succeeds – despite the strong influence of Japanese history and tradition on his perceptions and his choice of motifs – in creating a modern image of Japan, albeit one that is more classic than provocative, as in the case of the Provoke Group?

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References

References
↑1 At GALERIE PRISKA PASQUER we introduced Issei Suda’s work with two solo exhibitions in 2009 and 2013 and frequent presentations at fairs like Paris Photo, AIPAD New York and Art Basel. See here: https://priskapasquer.art/issei-suda/
ISSEI SUDA | Kanda Tokyo, from the series Fushi Kaden, 1975
by Ferdinand Brueggemann

Issei Suda, a Master of Japanese Photography | Interview Roland Angst with Ferdinand Brueggemann | Part I

Interview by the publisher Roland Angst with me on the photographer Issei Suda for the book “Issei Suda – The Work of a Lifetime – Photographs 1968 – 2006”, Only Photography, 2011.

Previously I had posted an interview I did with Mariko Takeuchi on Japanese photography, this time I am posting an interview the Berlin publisher Roland Angst did with me on the Japanese photographer Issei Suda for the first Western monograph in the artist.
Suda is slowly becoming more popular in the West[1]At GALERIE PRISKA PASQUER we introduced Issei Suda’s work with two solo exhibitions in 2009 and 2013 and frequent presentations at fairs like Paris Photo, AIPAD New York and Art Basel. See … Continue reading with his distinct but mysterious 1970s work as a kind of anti-thesis to the raw energy of the Provoke photography.  

Part I of the interview | Part II of the interview

Issei Suda, a Master of Japanese Photography | Interview by Roland Angst with Ferdinand Brueggemann

Published in: “Issei Suda – The Work of a Lifetime – Photographs 1968 – 2006“, Only Photography, Berlin, 2011

ISSEI SUDA | "Miura Peninsula, Kanagawa Prefecture", from the series "Fushi Kaden", 1975

ISSEI SUDA | “Miura Peninsula, Kanagawa Prefecture”, from the series “Fushi Kaden”, 1975

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References

References
↑1 At GALERIE PRISKA PASQUER we introduced Issei Suda’s work with two solo exhibitions in 2009 and 2013 and frequent presentations at fairs like Paris Photo, AIPAD New York and Art Basel. See here: https://priskapasquer.art/issei-suda/
YUTAKA TAKANASHI | Hongo: Manjo Parlor, 6-17-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, from the series "Machi" (Town), 1975
by Ferdinand Brueggemann

Yutaka Takanashi – Towards the City | Part 4 | Final

Final part of my essay “Yutaka Takanashi – Towards the City” for the “Yutaka Takanashi” exhibition catalogue, Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris.

This is part four, the final part of my essay “Yutaka Takanashi – Towards the City” for the “Yutaka Takanashi” exhibition catalogue, accompanying the show at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson.[1]Essay: “Towards the City” [French/English]. in: Yutaka Takanashi, published by Éditorial RM, Mexico City and Toluca Éditions, Paris. Published on occasion of the exhibition Yutaka Takanashi, … Continue reading

[Part 1, part 2, part 3]

Machi

Following Toshi-e, Yutaka Takanashi also devoted himself to the traditional side of Japan while remaining with his favourite subject, Tokyo. In 1975, he photographed the city’s old shitamachi suburbs, which had escaped demolition so far. He shows the part of the city that has only given way to modernity to a limited extent, and where the old, traditional prewar Japan has not yet been displaced.

YUTAKA TAKANASHI | Mita, Shiba: Suzuki Steal Shop, 5-20-14 Shiba, Minato-ku, from the series "Machi" (Town), 1977

YUTAKA TAKANASHI | Mita, Shiba: Suzuki Steal Shop, 5-20-14 Shiba, Minato-ku, from the series “Machi” (Town), 1977

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References

References
↑1 Essay: “Towards the City” [French/English]. in: Yutaka Takanashi, published by Éditorial RM, Mexico City and Toluca Éditions, Paris. Published on occasion of the exhibition Yutaka Takanashi, Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, May 10 – July 29, 2012
YUTAKA TAKANASHI | Untitled, from the series "Toshi-e", 1974
by Ferdinand Brueggemann

Yutaka Takanashi – Towards the City (including a short history of the “Provoke” era), Part 3

This is part three of of my essay “Yutaka Takanashi – Towards the City” for the “Yutaka Takanashi” exhibition catalogue, accompanying the show at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson.[1]Essay: “Towards the City” [French/English]. in: Yutaka Takanashi, published by Éditorial RM, Mexico City and Toluca Éditions, Paris. Published on occasion of the exhibition Yutaka Takanashi, … Continue reading

[Part 1, part 2 and part 4]

 

Scrap Picker and Hunter of Images

In 1966, when his series Tokyo-jin was being published, Yutaka Takanashi formulated his fundamental attitude to the medium of photography. As a photographer, he moved between two extremes – on the one hand, a “hunter of images” who aims to capture the invisible; on the other, a “scrap picker” who only picks up what is visible.[2]Yutaka Takanashi, in: Camera Mainichi, no. 1, January 1966, p. 13. Translation in: reference as above Masuda: Field Notes of Light, p. 144.

“[…] two conflicting creatures seem to have settled into my body. One is a ‘hunter of images’ aiming exclusively to shoot down the invisible, and the other is a ‘scrap picker’ who can only believe in what is visible.”

In the Tokyo-jin series, Takanashi was working primarily in “scrap picker” mode, photographing the visible elements of Tokyo, although the “hunter of the invisible” manifested itself in a number of pictures, such as Hachiko Square, Shibuya Station, Shibuya-ku, 1965, in which a girl appears to be reflected in the back of a man in a dark sports jacket leaning on a pane of glass opposite which she is standing.

Yutaka Takanashi: Hachiko Square, Shibuya Station, Shibuya-ku, from the series "Toshi-e", April 25, 1965

Yutaka Takanashi: Hachiko Square, Shibuya Station, Shibuya-ku, from the series “Tokyo-Jin”, , April 25, 1965, published in “Toshi-e”, 1974

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References

References
↑1 Essay: “Towards the City” [French/English]. in: Yutaka Takanashi, published by Éditorial RM, Mexico City and Toluca Éditions, Paris. Published on occasion of the exhibition Yutaka Takanashi, Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, May 10 – July 29, 2012
↑2 Yutaka Takanashi, in: Camera Mainichi, no. 1, January 1966, p. 13. Translation in: reference as above Masuda: Field Notes of Light, p. 144.
Rinko Kawauchi, Untitled (Illuminance), 2009
by Ferdinand Brueggemann

Rinko Kawauchi “Illuminance” – Preview

“It’s not enough that [the photograph] is beautiful,” says Kawauchi. “If it doesn’t move my heart, it won’t move anyone else’s heart.”

Rinko Kawauchi will publish her new book “Illuminance” in May. It will be her first book being published outside Japan. Publisher is Aperture, New York; and the photobook will be available in Germany at Kehrer Verlag as well.


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Book | Yutaka Takanashi, Photography 1965 – 74
by Ferdinand Brueggemann

Contemporary Book Award for “Yutaka Takanashi. Photography 1965-74” @Rencontres d’Arles

Last weekend I received the pleasant news that a photobook I am co-editor of won the Contemporary Book Award at the Rencontres d’Arles Festival 2010.

The Historical Book Award and The Contemporary Book Awards
The Historical Book Award goes to the best thematic book or monograph published between 1 June 2009 and 31 May 2010. The Contemporary Book Award goes to the best photography book published between 1 June 2009 and 31 May 2010. The Book Awards winners are chosen by the five Discovery Award nominators, Rencontres d’Arles president Jean-Noël Jeanneney, and LUMA Foundation founder Maja Hoffmann.

Yutaka Takanashi. Photography 1965-74
Yutaka Takanashi, Photography 1965 – 74
Editors: Roland Angst, Ferdinand Brueggemann, Priska Pasquer
Essays by Ferdinand Brueggemann and Hitoshi Suzuki
Published by Only Photography, Berlin
116 pages, 41 images, Triplex, hardcover, ed. 500
Text: German, English, Japanese
ISBN 978-3-9812537-2-6

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Yutaka Takanashi: Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku-ku, from the series "Toshi-e", 1965
by Ferdinand Brueggemann

On Yutaka Takanashi: Towards Tokyo

In 1966 Yutaka Takanashi published a 36 pages long spread with 43 photographs introducing his new series titled “Tokyo-jin”, a title which is usually translated as “Tokyoites” or “People of Tokyo”. The series was published in the magazine Camera Mainichi – a photo magazine which was essential documenting contemporary currents in the Japanese photography scene.(Camera Mainichi, 1966, no. 1. In the magazine the title “Tokyo-jin” was translated as “Tokyo Man”. The editor of Camera Mainichi, Shôji Yamagishi, co-curated in 1974 the seminal exhibition on Japanese photography at the MOMA, see the post on John Szarkowski, 2007.)

Yutaka Takanashi: West Exit Square, Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku-ku, 1965 ©Yutaka Takanashi

Yutaka Takanashi: West Exit Square, Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku-ku, 1965 ©Yutaka Takanashi

Photographed 1964-65 “Tokyo-jin” concentrates on the inhabitants of the megacity Tokyo. At that time Tokyo had overcome the severe destructions of World War II and new centres for consumption, mass- and avant-garde culture had emerged, now mainly concentrated in Shinjuku and Shibuya.(Before WWII Ginza and Asakusa were the heart of the avant-garde culture and Western-influenced modernity. You can find a colour video from 1935 on Ginza and Asakusa in a 2007 post. Today Asakusa is seen as representing the ‘old’ Tokyo. See for example my post on Hiroh Kikai from 2006.) Takanashi’s series shows people in public spaces, in the streets, at department stores, commuting to work – like the fantastic image of an overcrowded subway train -, or spending leisure time together.

Yutaka Takanashi: Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku-ku, February 12, 1965 ©Yutaka Takanashi

Yutaka Takanashi: Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku-ku, February 12, 1965 ©Yutaka Takanashi

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Shomei Tomatsu: Oh! Shinjuku. Tokyo: Shaken, 1969
by Ferdinand Brueggemann

Japanese Photobooks – Auction Results, Christie’s, May 21

I never really followed the price development of the market for rare Japanese photobooks. But I remember that once a collector told me that the price for rare Japanese books goes up by 100 $ every month. But this was before the financial crisis began.

The blog DLK COLLECTION just posted an overview of the results of the ‘Photobook’ auction at Christie’s, South Kensington, May 21:

The results of the recent Photobooks sale at Christie’s in London were considerably stronger than the other photography-related book sales this season. While I don’t have access to historical photobook auction records, according to Christie’s, the inscribed Frank [The Americans] likely set a record for a regularly-published (not special or limited edition) postwar book, fetching a hefty £43250 ($62,194). Photobooks by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Richard Prince also soared to big prices. Overall, the buy-in rate was solid (just under 28%) and the total sale proceeds covered the total High estimate.
[Quote: DLK COLLECTION]

This prompted me to have a closer look at the results of the Japanese photobooks included in the auction. Kikuji Kawada’s “The Map” became the 5th most expensive book and Araki’s extremely rare edition of  “ABCD” (20 copies) made the 9th place on the list, closely followed by the two ‘Workshop’ portfolios (place 11 and 12) and Yutaka Takanashi’s “Toshi-e” (no. 14).

Here are the results for Japanese photobooks:

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Masahisa Fukase, from Ravens, 1986
by Ferdinand Brueggemann

The best photobook in 25 years: “Ravens” by Masahisa Fukase

An obscure masterpiece is chosen in the critic’s poll of the best photobooks of the past 25 years.

The British Journal of Photography asked Chris Killip, Ute Eskildsen, Gerry Badger, Jeffrey Ladd and Yoko Sawada to select the best photobooks of the last 25 years.

The critics chose Masahisa Fukase’s book “Ravens” as the best book.

Masahisa Fukase: Karasu (Ravens), Sokyu-sha, 1986

Masahisa Fukase: Karasu (Ravens), Sokyu-sha, 1986

 

The best photobooks in 25 years
An obscure masterpiece is chosen in our critic’s poll of the best photobooks of the past 25 years.

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