Our Thursday series features must-read books from each branch of the art bookshop NADiff. This week's recommendation is "Provocative History of Photography" by Kanemura Osamu and Takazawa Kenji. NADiff modern, our Shibuya branch (Bunkamura, 2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), introduces it.
■ "Provocative History of Photography" by Kanemura Osamu and Takazawa Kenji
This is a "history of photography" told by two people of the same generation: Takazawa Kenji, a photography critic who is on the "viewing side," and Kanemura Osamu, a photographer who is on the "taking side." (Actually, it might be more appropriate to call it "photographic history" (in Kanemura Osamu's case).)
This book is based on a lecture held at the Aoyama Book Center main branch in 2012. The lively feel inherent in the dialogue format, the two distinct perspectives of the viewer and the photographer, as well as extensively expanded and detailed annotations, opening sentences for each chapter, preface, and afterword make this a fascinating book. Takazawa says, "A great photographer has his or her own photographic history." Rather than focusing on a traditional chronological narrative, this book tells the story of a single photographer (in this case, Osamu Kanemura) through his or her own lens. It tells the story of when, where, and by whom he or she was influenced, what thoughts led to the artist's current expression, over the course of just 200 years of photography. Rather than simply absorbing the history of photography as knowledge, confronting a past work head-on can help us recognize our current position, which may then lead to the beginning of our own photographic history and a glimpse into the true nature of photography.
This book makes you realize that there may be a "history of photography" told from such a biased perspective, and offers fresh discoveries and the possibility of new approaches to photography.
Currently, Bunkamura The Cinema is screening "Don't Blink: The Era of Robert Frank's Photographs," as well as the "New York Legend: Saul Leiter Exhibition" and "Photographer Saul Leiter: 13 Lessons Learned from a Slow Life," a special screening to commemorate the opening of the "Photographer Saul Leiter Exhibition."
【Book Information】
"Provocative Photography: A History of Photography"
Authors: Kanemura Osamu, Takazawa Kenji
Publisher: Heibonsha
368 pages / A5
Published: February 2017
Price: 2,300 yen
【Screening Information】
■"Don't Blink: The History of Robert Frank"
Venue: Bunkamura Le Cinema
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"Photographer Saul Leiter: 13 Lessons Learned from a Slow Life"
Screening Period: May 20th - June 2nd
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【Exhibition Information】
"Saul Leiter: A Legend Born in New York"
Venue: Bunkamura The Museum
Address: 2-24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Period: April 29th to June 25th Hours: 10:00-18:00 (last entry 17:30), 10:00-21:00 every Friday and Saturday (last entry 20:30) Admission: 1,400 yen for adults, 1,000 yen for university and high school students, 700 yen for junior high and elementary school students Closed: Closed on June 6th only
