Short version of this post: check out the show by Arata Masuda over at Konica Minolta Plaza in Shinjuku. [map] It’s called “Rooftop Paradise,” and it’s up until October 23. I highly recommend it.
I went to meet a friend in Shinjuku today, but I got there a bit early so I decided to see what was up at Konica Minolta Plaza, one of the many “maker” galleries in Tokyo, along with other spaces run by Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Ricoh, Fuji and Epson. (!) I didn’t know what was there, but Konica Minolta is always hit and miss, which is actually a step up from most of the other maker galleries which are usually full of junk.
As it happens, Monday the gallery is actually closed, but I “misunderstood” a sign outside the elevator and walked in, where the Arata exhibit was already set up. I made one pass of the exhibit, which I hastened when I heard some whispering outside to the effect of “some crazy foreigner just walked in” “foreigner?” “yes a foreigner.”
I’ll definitely going back for a slower look, because the photos are great. Arata went to the rooftops of department stores and found some incredible images there. The show is big, so not everything hits the mark, but in many cases he finds a balanced composition between people, buildings, trees and whatever else happens to be on top of department stores. This composition reminds me of Gocho Shigeo, who might be one of my favorites:
This image of Gocho’s is one of the only ones I could find online but no matter. If you’re in Shinjuku over the next couple of weeks, stop by and check the Arata show out.