The humor of candid camera

May 23, 2013

The humor of candid camera

by C.B. Liddell

With the advent of the digital camera, mobile phones and social networking, the world is now drowning in photographic imagery. This raises the question: Can photography survive as an art form in a world where it is ubiquitous? The exhibition of work by Kayo ...

'1968: Japanese Photography'

May 9, 2013

'1968: Japanese Photography'

by Delilah Romasanta

The late 1960s was an important period for the development of Japanese photography, which helped pictorialise and document the era’s significant political and social changes. This show focuses on the years 1966 to 1974, and is split into four sections: the history of photographic ...

Smuggling art into fashion

Apr 18, 2013

Smuggling art into fashion

by Mio Yamada

In 1943, in the midst of World War II, a U.S. Army propaganda drop over Berlin distributed leaflets bearing gruesome images of Adolf Hitler’s face partially obscured by a calf’s skull. Those who dared to pick one up would never have guessed that the ...

JR's portraits put a face on Tohoku

Apr 4, 2013

JR's portraits put a face on Tohoku

by Stuart Munro

French artist JR, whose show of photographic artwork is on display at the Watari-um (Watari Museum of Contemporary Art), inspires while questioning the role of art in war-torn and disaster-ridden places, asking whether art could really change things for the better. JR not only ...

Edward Steichen's great American Dream

Mar 7, 2013

Edward Steichen's great American Dream

by Mio Yamada

“I don’t think that many people in Japan know who Edward Steichen is,” says curator Miki Tsukada in a surprisingly honest comment about visitors to the Setagaya Art Museum’s current exhibition.

'Erwin Blumenfeld:  A Hidden Ritual of Beauty'

Mar 7, 2013

'Erwin Blumenfeld: A Hidden Ritual of Beauty'

by Tomohiro Osaki

German-born fashion photographer Erwin Blumenfeld (1897-1969) was particularly renowned for his cover shoots for fashion magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Although his extant works are highly acclaimed by art critics worldwide, they are rarely shown in Japan — mainly because they are ...

'Modern Kamakura Guidebook'

Feb 28, 2013

'Modern Kamakura Guidebook'

by Tomhiro Osaki

The city of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, is a popular tourist destination that attracts around 19 million visitors a year, many of whom visit from nearby Tokyo. It became increasingly popular during the Edo Period (1603-1867), when pilgrimages to its Buddhist sites became a fashionable ...

Driven to shoot on the frontlines

Feb 14, 2013

Driven to shoot on the frontlines

by C.B. Liddell

The camera never lies — or does it? The double-barreled exhibition now on at the Yokohama Museum of Art suggests that it doesn’t always tell the truth either. “Two Photographers: Robert Capa Centennial/ Gerda Taro Retrospective” is a time-traveling trip back to the middle ...

'JR: Could Art Change the World?'

Feb 14, 2013

'JR: Could Art Change the World?'

by Tomohiro Osaki

A self-described “photograffeur,” French artist JR’s artwork is based on flyposting giant photographic images in public spaces to offer a form of social commentary. In “Portrait of a Generation” (2006), he brought attention to the community in Montfermeil, France, by flyposting portraits of teens ...