Most histories of photography are Western-centric and barely mention the development of photography in the East. This week we focus on an important Japanese photographer, Shomei Tomatsu. Tomatsu raised traditional photojournalism to new levels, making his work more representational, mirroring the rapid modernisation of Japan as it turned to the West. This is most clear in an untitled image from Tomatsu's Protest, Tokyo series from 1969. At this time of social change, Japan felt the reverberations of youth protest movements in the West and the Tokyo youth became highly politically engaged. The image I've chosen this week depicts a scene from a Tokyo street protest. Tomatsu captures the protestor uniquely isolated from big crowds expected in such large protests, the background thrown into an abstract blur. To me this suggests a deep-seated uncertainty for the new Japan to emerge from Western influence: the currents of change are impossible to halt and whilst the youth collective provide a political challenge, their influence is fleeting.
 |
| © Tomatsu Shomei, Protest, Tokyo, from the Oh Shinjuku! series, 1969 |
(You might recognise the picture from the front cover of Haruki Murakami's The Wind Up Bird Chronicle)
No comments:
Post a Comment