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2009, Jun 08
A trip to Sokyu-sha’s bookstore

Sokyu-sha is one of the many galleries which are around Shinjuku Gyoen, a nicely manicured park in the middle of Shinjuku. To the side of the gallery space is one of the most interesting photography bookstores in Tokyo. It’s not the biggest, but it has a really strong selection of black and white books, including many publications which I haven’t seen anywhere else. Let’s take a look.

I have updated all of these “trip” posts with a link to a map of the place. Here’s the map of Sokyu-sha.

The main shelves. The book on display here is Asako Narahashi’s “Half Awake and Half Asleep in the Water,” which I would really like

In the middle is a long table, which is mostly full of high-level, more recent books. Older stuff is on the shelves

Requisite issues of Moriyama’s “Record” series. Still managed to pass up the Osaka one, which is on the right here

A bookcase full of what I assume is photography history and criticism. I can speak a reasonable amount of Japanese but kanji is still beyond me

Here’s where Sokyu-sha really shines. These are issues of a small photography publication which I’ve never seen before

I bought the issues of “LP” for 500yen each, and the white book on the left. This book is amazing and only cost 1000yen, I will write about it later

Not exactly zines, but tiny publications printed on cheap paper which are mostly text. Still interesting, and again, I don’t know yet where else to find this kind of thing
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2009, Jun 06
RJ Shaughnessy and !!!!!

I just saw this series by RJ Shaughnessy called “Your Golden Opportunity Is Comeing Very Soon.” I’m digging it a lot, lately I’ve been taking pictures of the textures in Tokyo and this really resonates. Simple and effective, shoot on!

Via We can shoot too

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2009, Jun 04
Yamashita Tsuneo’s “Another time on the Ryuku Islands” at Tosei-sha

There is a talk by Kenya Hara, art director of MUJI, in which he explains why he thinks that Japanese culture (!) should be thought of as valuing “emptiness,” rather than “simplicity.” This distinction can be traced all the way back to the construction of a Shinto shrine, which at its center is always an empty space enclosed by four pillars, bound at the top with straw. The building around this space is not all that important. The empty space is more valuable, because it offers the possibility of being filled.

To cite Hara’s more modern example, we can look at the design of knives from America and Japan. The handle of an American knife might have a molded grip, which means it can be held in only one way. That’s simple. A Japanese knife, though, will have a cylindrical handle, which can accommodate whatever style the cook may wish to use. Hara calls this knife empty.

The photographs in Yamashita Tsuneo’s “Another time on the Ryuku Islands” made me think of that talk. I wanted to call his photographs “simple,” but maybe I should say that they’re empty. What does this mean? The photos are a vehicle for transmitting the experience of being on the islands. Like the building around a shrine, they’re not actually that important. You might forget that you are looking at photographs.

Walking around the exhibit, I felt connected to this place in Okinawa. It’s strange to say, but a close up photograph of a large, still-wet squid lying on a wooden table gave me the impression of what the air on the Ryuku islands would feel like.

I can’t guarantee that you will have a similar experience, but perhaps if you go to the gallery without thinking very much, you’ll feel the same way.

All of these photos are from a different series, “Daily.” They are also all © Yamashita Tsuneo

The exhibit is at the Tosei-sha gallery in Nakano-ku, and will be up until the end of June. Here’s a map to the gallery. The staff at Tosei-sha is by far the friendliest I have met in Tokyo, and there are a number of good books out front, some of which they have also published.

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2009, Jun 01
Ume Kayo and vernacular photography

There has been interesting discussion lately about the place of “vernacular” photography, and its position (or lack of it) in the “fine art” world.

Ume Kayo fits in here, as a young photographer with a style that I think would be at home on Flickr. She’s had real success in Japan, though: in 2006, she won the Ihei Kimura Award, which recognizes a young photographer and effectively launches their career. Her first book, “Ume-me,” has since gone on to sell over 110,000 copies, and as of today is still given pride of place on publisher Little More’s site.

Here are some samples from “Ume-me.” This kind of work is what’s at stake, no?

all © Ume Kayo

Is Ume Kayo already known in the US? I have no idea.

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2009, May 20
About Conscientious

It’s like they had the wrong job, they didn’t understand what they were looking at. And their job WAS to understand it.

William Eggleston on the reception of his 1976 MOMA exhibition

Perhaps critics should make an effort to cultivate the habits of a poor collector. The collector already knows what they are looking for, and then works to narrow things down—“I am now one closer!” The critic opens things up, by showing how they could belong to the broad collections called “culture,” “tradition” or maybe even “history.” The thrill of the critic, if one can call it that, comes first from understanding a work, and then from elevating it to its rightful position. Seeing with the eyes of the lackadaisical collector may lead to more surprising results for criticism.

The works that a critic praises may have an external order, but this is only a mask. Unlike a collection, the real order behind these works is always hidden. As the critic moves closer to the collector, though, his or her work moves closer to cataloging. This is a useful activity for historians, but when asked to double as criticism it appears uncurious, if not dogmatic.

The internet can only exaggerate this tendency. Where “authority” is qualified and published by third parties, the critic must construct his or her own platform, or podium. This can be done in many ways. The critic who wills collection may construct a high podium, to keep a narrow gaze fixed in the distance without the distraction of seeing or hearing an audience.

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2009, May 19
A trip to Fujiya Camera’s junk store

Fujiya Camera sits tucked away behind Nakano station in a nest of pachinko parlors. Across the street from the main store–which has a good selection of Konica/Ricoh/Contax point and shoots upstairs–lies the junk store. Here’s a look inside.

Update: link to a map of Fujiya Camera

There are always two or three bins full of (mostly working) point and shoot cameras on the floor. The cameras sell for either 105 or 315 yen. That means $1-3.

P+S PORN

I rescued this little guy for 105yen

On the wall there are old SLRs, lenses and sometimes the odd Kyocera Samurai. Underneath is random medium format stuff

Mamiya C330 for about $75, there was a 105mm lens next to it for about $40

Lots of flashes. I bought two battery powered numbers for 315yen each

A pretty good selection of photo magazines
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2009, May 15
you call this photography?

“When the photographer is freed from photography, photography is also freed from ‘realism.’”

Enough Twitter regurgitation!

Consider the question “is this photography?” or the declaration “that’s not photography.” The thought behind these statements is binary, maybe even dogmatic. The quote at the top of this post is pointing towards a more open way of looking (so to speak) at photography.

I plan to write more about this quote, but I want to put it in your head first.

Full article by Sara L. Marion at AMERICANSUBURBX; found by lpvgallery

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2009, May 14
“I don’t understand what your problem is really”

Lately I am thinking about online criticism, online critics.

“Contemporary Portraiture” – for the most part a derogatory phrase as it alludes to a stagnant and dying aesthetic… vs a time period [link]

@americansuburbx “contemporary portraiture” alludes to a changed perception of what photographic portraiture can do – no more, no less [link]

@jmcolberg – I understand but disagree. I see it as an unfortunate “aesthetic” that wraps itself like a blanket around the intent of many. [link]

@americansuburbx I don’t understand what your problem is really. “Intent” is something you cannot know if you only have a photo. [link]

@americansuburbx Also, you cannot ignore what we know now about photography – its loss of being a real document. [link]

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2009, May 06
A few recent things from Twitter
  • For people in Tokyo, there’s a good-looking exhibit up now at the Setagaya Art Museum. It’s called “Japan: Self Portrait” and it is a survey of postwar black and white photography. Some big names are involved. (via eyecurious)

  • A theoretical essay on the tradition of photography at AMERICANSUBURBX. It’s sometimes very “soupy” but check out paragraphs 2, 5 and the next-to-last one if you are too rushed. There’s one very good sentence which I want to write more about later. (via lpvgallery)

  • When someone with a coldly intelligent blog persona uses Twitter for a rampant complaint session, it’s a little bit sad… and a little bit funny. (via jmcolberg)

  • Zizek is on Twitter. He’s pumping out a few decent aphorisms, but you’ll have to imagine his spittle and wild-eyed looks as he mashes the keyboard yourself.
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