Reflex Amsterdam is the first art gallery to show a large selection from Another Country in New York (1971) by photographer Daido Moriyama. The photographs capture Moriyama's signature style: rough, blurry and grainy. When taking photographs, the artist rarely looked through the viewfinder to capture what he calls a "passerby's view."
Reflex Amsterdam is the first art gallery to exhibit a large selection of Another Country in New York (1971) by photographer Daido Moriyama. The photos capture Moriyama's signature style: rough, blurry and grainy. When taking a photo, the artist rarely looked into the viewfinder to capture what he calls a 'passerby's view'.Text: Mical Joseph
Image: Daido Moriyama
The photographer refused the sharpness of photography to capture reality in its essence; exciting and chaotic.
Another Country in New York includes the artist's journey to New York in 1971 in snapshots of the plane, the hotel room, street life and billboards. It was the artist's first trip outside Japan. The strange frames, dynamic diagonal compositions and flashing lights capture the overwhelming feeling of the urban landscape in black and white photographs inhabited by both unrest and beauty. The photos were printed by Moriyama himself in 2002 and have never been shown in full. They were hidden in the archive, but will now be on display for enthusiasts of vintage photography and as a crucial body of work in Moriyama's oeuvre.
Inspiration
The series references the title of author James Baldwin's 1962 book, Another Country. Set in New York, Baldwin chronicles the aftermath of a young man's tragic death. Yet the book is truly a portrait of New York City, as every sentence pulsates with urban buzz. It's no surprise that Moriyama references this book, as he gently places his finger on the city's pulse to press the shutter button. Describing photography as a 'fossil of light and time', his audience is offered a fragment of a clarified, long-gone moment. His works are portraits of the urban mystery, not an attempt to solve it. This sense of mystery is reflected in the double prints, where two photos are printed one after the other; two images are combined and reveal stark contrasts or overwhelming impressions of New York.
An excellent photographer and a figurehead in the field, Moriyama joined Provoke in 1968. The Japanese experimental project sought to report on lived experience through photography. This was a radical step that still resonates in Moriyama's work. The intense portrayal of New York in 1971 is constantly captivating through the confrontational portraits of New York; one so vibrant and dynamic that it emerges from the photographs even decades later.
The exhibition opens on Saturday, March 26 from 17.00:19.00 PM to 290:XNUMX PM in the Residence, Lijnbaansgracht XNUMX in Amsterdam.
