Tag Archives: Shomei Tomatsu

Okinawa soul

By eyecurious | Published: 10 April 2011
Since the earthquake of 11 March, Japan has slowly faded out of the international news, barring the occasional update on the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. However things remain critical in the northeast of the country and disrupted as far south as Tokyo as a result of the lingering problems at Fukushima and [...]
Posted in Japanese photography, Photo-books | Also tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Book of the Week #3: Ikko Narahara, The Sky in My Hands

By eyecurious | Published: 5 November 2010
Ikko Narahara is a contemporary of Shomei Tomatsu, Eikoh Hosoe and Kikuji Kawada (with he who formed the short-lived but influential VIVO agency in Tokyo in 1960). He is probably the least well-known of the four in the West, although his book Europe: Where Time Has Stopped has become highly collectible. This is an exhibition [...]
Posted in Asian photography, Book of the Week, Japanese photography, Photo-books | Also tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Review: Leo Rubinfien, A Map of the East

By eyecurious | Published: 16 April 2010
I should say this up front: this is not so much a review as a eulogy. It has been a long time since a photobook has had such an strong impact on me (to the point where I found myself poring over it at 3am during a bout of insomnia). I am not going to [...]
Posted in American photography, Book reviews, Photo-books | Also tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Review: Mao Ishikawa, Life in Philly

By eyecurious | Published: 6 April 2010
There is a famous saying in Japan, “The nail that sticks out is hammered down.” If there is any truth to that over-used trope, Mao Ishikawa cannot have had an easy life. Born in 1953 in Okinawa, she was one of the very few female photographers of her generation who attempted to make a career [...]
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The art of the caption

By eyecurious | Published: 30 March 2010
Choosing words to go with photographs is a big issue for us photobloggers. Some of us avoid them, others use them with caution, and some, like me, can’t seem to hold them back. Choosing the right balance between words and images is a very tricky thing and this tightrope walk often makes me think about [...]
Posted in Existentialist photo-ramblings, Japanese photography, Photo-journalism | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Shomei Tomatsu, As Salaam Alaykum

By eyecurious | Published: 15 February 2010
For any Tokyoites out there, Gallery 21 will be showing a selection of works from a lesser-known series of Shomei Tomatsu‘s work next month. Although he has never been to Europe or the United States, Tomatsu has done his share of wandering around Asia and in the 1960s he made a trip to Afghanistan, which [...]
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Frauke Eigen, Shoku

By eyecurious | Published: 4 February 2010
Frauke Eigen is currently showing her series Shoku at London’s Atlas Gallery. The series is “inspired by recent visits to Japan” and this comes through in both the subject matter and the approach. These black-and-white images are taken right up close to their subject bringing texture and form to the fore. These are arguably distinguishing [...]
Posted in Asian photography, European photography, One to watch | Also tagged , | 3 Comments

Nagasaki, 9 August 1945

By eyecurious | Published: 10 August 2009
I posted last week about the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. A second A-bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later, on 9 August 1945. This second atomic bombing seems almost more incomprehensible than the first: the idea that horror on this scale could be repeated just three days later. Shomei Tomatsu photographed [...]
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Japan: A Self-Portrait opening in Tokyo

By eyecurious | Published: 29 April 2009
I have been a bit quiet over the past few days as I have been busy working on two exhibition projects. Last week I went to Sweden to meet with a museum who will be holding the exhibition, Tokyo Stories, which I curated last year and was shown during Paris Photo 2008 at Artcurial. The [...]
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Review: First Doubt

By eyecurious | Published: 11 April 2009
“Postmodern interjection, intervention, and manipulation practiced by the society at large have made the image evident more as an artifice than a true recital of the outside world. That makes me happy.” Allan Chasanoff This quote gives you an idea of the thread that runs through First Doubt, Optical Confusion in Modern Photography, an exhibition [...]
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