File 6: "Bible" by Momo Okabe, 2014, reviewed by Betsy Clifton

If God is dead, he’s surely rolling in his grave. Momo Okabe’s Bible, in both stature and spirit will not fit into your bedside table, although its alluring gold foil stamping and crimson suede cover will persuade you to keep it close. Juxtaposing images of underground Tokyo nightlife and the destruction wrought by the tsunami in Miyagi, and India between 2008 and 2014 Bible is a testament to the unwavering complexity of Momo Okabe’s everyday life with her lovers and friends. Alongside their pursuance of a genuine identity and sense of belonging, Okabe unfolds the “sad, yet beautiful scenery that they could perceive after overcoming the long and difficult struggle out from their traumatic past.” The sincerity and depth of Okabe’s work unwinds a sweetness within the tension of collective alienation; a window into a kaleidoscopic heart.

 Bible is published by Session Press as a part of an ongoing, earnest mission to acquaint Japanese artists to an international audience. This is Okabe’s second US monograph published by Session Press following her unique artist book Dildo, an incredibly labored small edition in 2013. Okabe has been highly acclaimed by Nobuyoshi Araki at New Cosmos of Photography in 1999 and Masafumi Sanai at Epson Color Image in 2009 as well as by many other prestigious competitions in Japan. It is difficult, however, to position Okabe’s work into the norm of contemporary Japanese photography often associated with its perfection in composition and quiet meditation with subjects. Outside of the mainstream photo community, Okabe has pioneered her own electric yet sensitive color pallet to convey her overflowing emotions onto her work. It’s the kind of color that reminds me of what wandering around a desert would look like; the purples your eyes find after you’ve stared at the sun, the reds that hover over hot sand, and the depths of blues and greens that are only remembered through your imagination.

Since I first finished Bible it continued to swim around my head and churn up a poignant realizations of all how so few things are our own that we can really talk about. Take our designated terms — a mother, a father, a family — words that describe what we already know as feeling above all.  The language in Bible — of a boy, a girl — struck this same cord as a visceral dichotomy, headlining what photography handles that words cannot. Okabe has brought a new breed of personification forward to a Japanese subculture long deserving of a platform. Her pulse between landscape and body imagery is not for the faint-of-heart, Okabe’s intimate access to gender identity (both pre and postoperative) is as urgent as it is courageous. Her rhythm continues to kick up the sediment of my mind once settled in the overtly intellectualized practice so prevalent in today’s contemporary photography scene, and begins to reposition critical perspectives towards compassion, intimacy, and camaraderie. Momo Okabe is enlightened over the weight of the history and tradition that stands before her, and keeps dear a why to live that endures almost any how.

Betsy Clifton is a book designer and distribution manager at Dashwood Books in New York, NY. She has contributed to numerous Dashwood publications over the past three years, most recently with artists Jason Polan, Stefan Marx, and Ari Marcopoulos. She received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts and is currently an M.Arch candidate at the University of California, Berkeley.

BOOK INFO:


Title: BIBLE

Artist: Momo Okabe


Design: Momo Okabe

Text: Ko Kosugi

Translation: Daniel Gonzalez

Publisher: Session Press


Date: 2014

Edition: 300, SIGNED, regular edition 
Edition: 20, with an archival color C print SIGNED, NUMBERED by Artist


Size: 9.84 x 14.17 inches


Binding/printing/weight/page: hardcover, off-set color printing, 95 color images in 122 pages, 7 pounds.

ARTIST INFO: 

Momo Okabe

Japanese, b. 1981

Momo Okabe was born in Tokyo in 1981 and received her B.F.A. in photography from Nihon University of Art in 2004.  Her work has been nominated by many prestigious competitions in Japan including:

-Special Award “The 8th Exhibition of New Cosmos of Photography selected  Nobuyoshi Araki “, P3 art and environment, Tokyo, 1999.

-Fine prize for” the 19th 3.3㎡ Exhibition”, Guardian Garden Tokyo, 2002.

-Excellent Work Prize “Color Imaging Contest of EPSON”, Tokyo International Forum, 2004.

-Fine work prize “The 30th Exhibition of New Cosmos of Photography ”,  Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 2007.

-Special Jury Prize , “Color Imaging Contest of EPSON selected by Masafumi Sanai” EPSON, Tokyo, Japan, 2009.

-Selected for Yokohama Photo Festival Exhibition, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, 2010.

-Selected for Tokyo Portfolio Review Exhibition, NADiff A/P/A/R/T,Tokyo, 2010.

-“DILDO” (session press, 2014) selected for 2013 PHOTOEYE BEST PHOTOBOOK by Hisako Motoo.

Publication:

dildo

Artbeat publsiher, Tokyo, 2010, 100 ltd edition

UNSEEN/TSUMAMI (with Kokey Kanno)

Dashwood Books, NY, 2012, 200 ltd edition

DILDO

Session Press, NY,  2013, 55 ltd edition

Momo Okabe Publisher's Site

File 5 "Nagare no Uta / soul and soul” by Kiyoshi Suzuki, 1972, reviewed by Natsuko Oda

"Nagare no Uta / soul and soul" by Kiyoshi Suzuki, 1972 

"Nagare no Uta / soul and soul" is the first self-published book made by Kiyoshi Suzuki in 1972.  It is comprised of four sections from “Series: Tankou no Machi” (the colliery town) and his other projects.  “Series: Tankou no Machi” was originally commissioned by a photo magazine, “Camera Mainichi” and the article was issued six times from 1969 to 1970 right around the time he graduated from Tokyo College of Photography.

Suzuki started taking pictures for this project in Tokiwa coal mine while he was still a student at photography school. The idea came naturally to Suzuki since he was in fact born and raised in the same town.  In addition, Ken Domon's “Chikuho no Kodomotachi” (Patoria Shoten, 1960: Chikuho was another large coal mine town in Fukuoka) was so aspiring to him that it was a reason why he wanted to become a photographer.  Compared with the documental style of Domon, Suzuki’s work looks extremely personal.

Suzuki wrote ‘For my sister’ at the beginning and ‘so far days in my home town’ in the first chapter of the book.  They clearly indicate an autobiographical aspect of his work. Through his book, he tried to regain the fleeting memories of his own childhood as if a projector showed records of his earlier days.

Like the excellent first books by many other master photographers,  “Nagare no Uta” established his own unique style that was applied to his following projects. 

The image of a basin on the book cover is regarded as a prime example.  Suzuki repeated the motif of the round container filled with water in his other projects:  “Tenchi Gijou” (92), “Syura no Tani” (94) and “Durasu no Ryoudo” (98). Especially in “Tenchi Gijou” Suzuki was fascinated with an erotic element of a basin and introduced verse by his favorite poet, Mitsuharu Kaneko (1895-1975). (Kaneko made it when he was dreaming of traveling around Asia.)  In Kaneko’s poem ('Washbasin' in "Elegies to Women", Sogensha, Tokyo, 1949), a basin was depicted for cooking by people living in a small town in Indonesia and it was symbol of sturdiness and poverty. Kaneko also implies sentimental eroticism because prostitutes used a basin as a tool for making a quiet sad sound by urinating in front of their guests. 

Another important subject matter for Suzuki’s work is the circus.  Suzuki took a photo of a barnstormer in “Nagare no Uta” and, circus and homeless people in “Tenmaku no Machi.”  Suzuki discussed later that an idea came from the vivid memory of his childhood when his father brought him to a circus. He had a strong empathy and longing for lives of the people who moved aimlessly from place to place without any attachment.

(English translation by Alan Masters and Miwa Susuda)

Natsuko Oda: photobook writer, currently based in Hiroshima, Japan, specializes in Japanese photobooks in the 60s-70s, earned the Master of Arts in Photography and certificate of Museum of Art Counsil from Nihon University in 2000.  Master thesis on Diane Arbus.


Alan Masters: Photographer, photobook collector.  "Vers l'Est", his new monograph will be published in Spring 2014.

BOOK INFO:

Title: Nagare no Uta/soul and soul

Artist: Kiyoshi Suzuki

Designed: Kiyoshi Suzuki

Publisher: Self-published

Date: 1972

Size: 9.52×8.26 inches

Binding/page/printing:

ARTIST INFO: Kiyoshi Suzuki

Japanese, b. 1943-2000

Born in the Tokiwa coal town, Iwaki city, Fukushima.  After his graduation from a high school as a part-time student, he went to Tokyo and tried to become a cartoonist.  However, he soon gave up that option.  Meanwhile, Suzuki was highly influenced by Ken Domon’s photobook, ”Chikuho no Kodomotachi” (Patoria Shoten, 1960, “the kids in Chikuhou” / Chikuho was another large colliery town in Fukuoka) and he decided to become a photographer.  He entered Tokyo College of Photography and completed his study in 1969.

In 1970, he accomplished his first official work, “Series Tankou no Machi” for the photo magazine “Camera Mainichi” in 6 series (Tankou means coal mine).  For this project, he had the opportunity to travel all over the Japan and take many pictures in the several coal mines. Based on the project, he self-published “Nagare no Uta/soul and soul” in 1972.

Suzuki supported his own personal projects and family by working as a commercial sign painter and photography teacher at the Tokyo Collage of Photography over the thirty years.

He had published seven photobooks while he was still alive and "Shura no Tani" (Finish Dying) was nominated for the prestagious photo prize, Domon Ken award in 1992.  Except "The Ship of Fools" (IPC), all his books are self publications.

In 1976 “Braman no Hikari” (The light that has lighted the world)

In 1982 “Tenmaku no Machi  (Mind Games) (received 33^rd photographic association of Japan newcomer award).

In 1988 “Yume no Hashiri  (Street Shuffle) 

In 1991 “Gusha no Fune” (The Ship of Fools) published by IPC.

In1992 “Tenchi Gijo / Kiyoshi Suzuki Photographs 1990–92 ” (Southern Breeze)

In 1994 “Shura no Tani”(Finish Dying) (received the 14^th Domon Ken award) 

In1998 “Dyurasu no Ryodo”. (Durasia)

Bookmaking played a central role in Kiyoshi Suzuki’s career. He applied the same type of binding technique as the Japanese old literature book since literature is very important for his artistic development.  

Recently, Suzuki’s work had been reevaluated at the large institution in the world. In 2008, Machiel Botman, one of renowned Dutch photographers, curated the exhibition, “Kiyoshi Suzuki – Soul and Soul 1969-1999” at Noorderlicht Photo Gallery in Groningen, the Netherlands. His "Soul and Soul" was republished in 2008 by Aurora Borealis for this exhibition.  

In 2010, the other Suzuki’s important retrospective, “Suzuki Kiyoshi Hundred Steps and Thousand Stories" was held at the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo.  In 2011, “Nagare no uta” was republished by Hakusui sha, Tokyo.

File 4 "Form of Borders" by Motoyuki Shitamichi, 2012

Great photo books don’t have to be produced in lavish editions by large publishers and often times many of the greatest and most renowned photo books have been made by the artist’s own hands within very limited edition print sizes. It is historically well known that photo books and many other printed media have provided the photographers in Japan with more opportunities and freedom to express their creativity than what the exhibitions in the museums or galleries would typically allow.  Therefore, the self published books made in their earlier careers often become an ideal stage to assert their unique originality and affluent imagination.  Many collector’s most favorite Japanese titles include rare artist’s books from the early 70s to the present such as Araki Nobuyoshi’s “Sentimental Journey” (self-published, 1971), Daido Moriyama’s “Another country in New York” (self-published, 1974), Yukikazu Ito’s “Tetsuo” (Wall, 2006, ltd 350) and most recently Toshithugu Yamawaki’s “Dual 1” and “Dual 2” (Studio a la page, 2013, ltd 100) which was nominated for the best book award at the 6^th Fotobookfestival at Kessel in 2013. 

Motoyuki Shitamichi’s self published book, “Form of Borders” (Michi Laboratory, 2012), succeeds without exception in Japan’s great tradition of book making and eloquently evolves his life long theme of personal ‘borders’ subconsciously inhabited in landscape.  Shitamichi has been fascinated by those internal borders and has expanded his imagination through interacting with the people who reside in these given locations.  That’s because Shitamichi believes “Scenery is made up of nature and people's lives, like layers on top of one another".  There is no politically evocative element found in his work such as nudity, blood or crying babies, but just ordinary scenery we take for granted such as a beach, staircase, small roadside, sunset or a classroom.  Shitamichi denies any personal concerns with politics as a Japanese national; however, it is rather evident that there is a depth of pain, sorrow, resignation and monotony sowed into the undertones of his dark depiction of landscape that can be exclusively associated with Japanese history/culture and its unique identity. 

“Form of Borders” is comprised of 15 stories collected from the people in Niigata prefecture, text in both Japanese and English, printed in desert tan French fold paper, perfect binding overcoat with amber color glue.

BOOK INFO:

Title: Form of Borders

Artist: Motoyuki Shitamichi

Design/text: Motoyuki Shitamichi

Publisher, Michi Laboratory

Date: 2012

Size: 8.27 x 11.42 inches

Binding/page: French fold, 30 pages (60 pages including text parts inside pages

ARTIST INFO:

Motoyuki Shitamichi

b. Japanese, 1978

Graduated from Musashino Art University's Department of Painting in 2001, postgraduate studies at the Tokyo College of Photography. Shitamichi won the Gwangju Biennale Noon Award for emerging artists in 2012.  He has shown his work at the various institutions and galleries in Japan and abroad; “Fantomes” (2008/espase Japon, Paris), “Torii” (2008/Puffin Room, N.Y.), “Sunday Painter” (2010 /Contemporary Art Center, Ibaraki), “Dusk/Dawn” (2011/Nap Gallery, Tokyo). Artist-in-residence programs in: Cite International des Arts (2007-2008/ Paris), Tokyo wonder site Aoyama (2010-2011/ Tokyo), Aomori Contemporary Art Center (2011-2012/ Aomori).  He has published his books thru his own publishing company, Mich Laboratoy and Little More; 
2013 "torii", (Michi Laboratory, 2013)
 "Sunday Painter" (halken LLP, 2013), 
"Form of Border" (Michi Laboratory, 2012)
, "Sunday Painter", (Michi Laboratory
, 2010), "Bunkers" (Little More, 2005)

Motoyuki Shitamichi Official Wesbite  

File 3 "Circulation: Date, Place, Events" by Takuma Nakahira, 2012

Takuma Nakahira is a well known for being both critical of his own work and an influential member of the provoke movement along with Daido Moriyama and Yutaka Takanashi. Nakahira notably created the images for an installation at the Seventh Paris Biennale in 1971 during his stay in France.  Nakahira deliberately avoided reflecting his idea to his work, instead, he decided to document anything he encountered and install it on the same day.  Nakahira later recounted that this body of work became a turning point of his photographic methodology for attaining to eternity and erasing his own self from his work.

Compared to his Provoke work marked with high contrast, tilted angles, and blurry effects (see “Foe a Language to Come", Fudosha, 1970), “Circulation: Date, Place, Event” looks less intense and internal and it successfully hid his own subjective mind.  However, it can’t simply be regarded as the casual snap-post practice prevalent in our digitally saturated society.  Here, his critical thoughts are still kept deep in his mind and his serious observation is not about the city itself but instead a version of himself who painfully and urgently sought for a new expression.

Needless to say, only through a publisher’s ability to orchestrate the whole process, can his project finally see the light and reach out a wider audience.  The designer, Kazunari Hattori’s choice of a simple font and spine treatment, and same image size throughout the book effectively remind the viewers of Nakahira’s tenaciousness to keep to his own principles as a young artist.  The beautiful printing was made possibly by sincere dedication and respect by an artist, Osamu Kanemura (whose well known work is “Spider’s Strategy”, 2001, Osiris, another masterpiece of history of Japanese photography).  “Circulation: Date, Place, Event” is one of the most successful publications which increases the ‘book’s own life’ long after the artist’s original intent.

BOOK INFO:

Title: Circulation: Date, Place, Events

Artist: Takuma Nakahira

Design: Kazunari Hattori

Publisher, Osiris

Date: 2012

Size: 5¾x8¼ inch

Binding/page/printing:  320 pp, 257 images in black and white, softcover with slipcase

ISBN: 978-4-905254-01-0

ARTIST INFO:

Takuma Nakahira

Japanese b. 1938

Takuma Nakahira was born in 1938 in Tokyo, and lives and works in Yokohama.  Upon his graduation from the University of Foreign Studies with a bachelor's degree in Spanish in 1963, Nakahira began his career as the editor of the new-left magazine, Contemporary Eye. That same year, he met photographer Shomei Tomatsu, whose association later encouraged Nakahira to become a professional photographer.  In 1968, Nakahira teamed up with Yutaka Takanashi, Takahiro Oakada and Koji Taki (Daido Moriyama joined later for its 2nd issue) and published the magazine provoke.  Nakahira wrote his critical essays in art and photography, although it lasted for only two years.

In 1969, Nakahira participated in the Sixth Paris Biennale, and in the same year he received the Newcomer Award from the Japanese Photography Critics’ Association. His publications include For A Language to Come (Fūdosha, 1970), Why an Illustrated Botanical Dictionary?, (Shōbunsha, 1973),  A New Gaze (Shōbunsha, 1983), Adieu à X (Kawade Shobō Shinsha, 1989), Hysteric Six, Nakahira Takuma. (Hysteric Glamour, 2002), Degree Zero: Yokohama, (Osiris, 2003), For A Language to Come, (Osiris, 2010), Toshi fūkei zukan, (Getsuyōsha, 2011), Takuma Nakahira Documentary (Akio Nagasawa Publishing, 2011), Circulation: Date, Place, Events (Osiris, 2012) and Gecko (Little Big Man with Takashi Homma, 2013).

The numerous exhibitions held at the Yokohama Museum of Art (2003), ShugoArts in Tokyo; The Art Gallery of Chukyo University in Nagoya; and the Hachinohe City Museum of Art.

File 2: "Shukei" by Nobuyoshi Araki, 1995

In 1973, just one year after his resignation from Denysu (large Japanese advertisement agency), Araki showed his unique body of work at the gallery of Kinokuniya Book Store in Shinjyuku, Tokyo. Created from the artificially manipulated, damaged negatives, his work of nude, portraits or landscape appeared very abstract and distorted.  Achieving a highly experimental effect, the work possibly surprised many viewers at the exhibition and successfully introduceed another side of his artistic expression.

With the title and his name artfully embossed on a silver-white metallic cover, all images of “Shukei” (meaning 'last scenery') are delivered from this exhibition in the early 1970s.  A book designer, Seiichi Suzuki who worked for an expanded edition of Hiromi Tsuchida’s “Zukushin” by Tosei-sha in 2004, conceived the book design.  “Shukei” was published for 1,000 editions by Araki's own publishing company, AaT Room. 

BOOK INFO:


Title: Shukei


Artist: Nobuyoshi Araki


Design: Seiichi Suzuki Design Room


Publisher: AaT Room


Date: 1995


Edition: 1,000


Size: 147.63 x 100.39 inches


Binding/page/printing: saddle stitched, 32 pages, off-set printing




ARTIST INFO: 

Nobuyoshi Araki


Japanese, b. 1940

In 1964 only one year after his graduation from Photography, Painting and Engineering Department at Chiba, he received the prestigious Taiyo Award from his “Satchin” project. Since then, he has been very active in making many publications and exhibiting his works both at home and abroad.  His often overly sexually pronounce work challenges social taboos surrounding sex and death and it has successfully received highly critical attention.  His main subject matters include female genitalia, Japanese bondage, flowers, food, his cat, faces and Tokyo street scenes.   "Sentimental Journey" (1971) and Tokyo Lucky Hole (1985) are considered to be ones of the most famous projects.  

His solo exhibitions include “Nobuyoshi Araki Photobook Exhibition: Arākī”, IZU PHOTO MUSEUM (Shizuoka, 2012), “NOBUYOSHI ARAKI: Self, Life, Death”, The Barbican Art Gallery (London, 2005), “Hana- Jinsei” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (2003), “Suicide in Tokyo” Italian Pavilion, Italia, Giardini di Castello (Venice, 2002), “Tokyo Still Life” Ikon Gallery (Birmingham, 2001), “Nobuyoshi Araki” Stedellik Museum voor Actuelle Kunst (Gent, 2000), “ARAKI Nobuyoshi Sentimental Photography, Sentimental Life” Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo(1999), “Tokyo Comedy” Wiener Secession (Vienna, 1997), “Journal intime” Fondation Cartier pour I’art contemporain (Paris, 1995), “Akt-Tokyo: Nobuyoshi Araki 1971-1991″ Forum Stadtpark (Graz, 1992). Araki was a recipient of the Austrian Decoration of Honor for Science and Arts (Austrian Embassy, 2008) and the 54th Mainichi Art Award (2012).

Nobuyoshi Araki Official Website