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Focus features two in-depth reviews each month of fine art, architecture and design exhibitions and events at art museums, galleries and alternative spaces around Japan. The contributors are non-Japanese art critics living in Japan. |
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Kyotographie: Matching Kyoto and Photography
Lucy Birmingham |
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Photography and Kyoto are unquestionably a perfect match. Japanese photographers are renowned worldwide. The beauty, culture, and mystery of the ancient capital have captured the eyes of photographers from around the world since the medium's early days. And the city offers unique venues for exhibiting the work -- temples, shrines, teahouses, breathtaking gardens. Yet strangely, there was no international festival celebrating and promoting the medium and the city together until last year, when a remarkable 57,400 visitors came to see Kyotographie 2013. For the second edition, which will run from April 19 through May 11 this year, the festival will offer even more enticing exhibitions and programs.
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| "Carmen, Early 1950s," © Lillian Bassman; in "Signature of Elegance: Works by Lillian Bassman," Chanel Nexus Hall presents. At Ryukoku University Omiya campus Main Hall. |
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Ryukoku University Omiya campus Main Hall interior, © 2014 Naoyuki Ogino. Venue for "Signature of Elegance: Works by Lillian Bassman," Chanel Nexus Hall presents. |
"Kyotographie is not a commercial event," explains co-founder/co-director Lucille Reyboz. "What we really want to do is make an interconnection between the exhibitions and the city to bring photography closer to the general public." Japan's small photo market has discouraged this kind of effort before. Tokyo Photo, the annual commercial photo fair launched in 2009, has attracted high audience numbers but limited sales. Surprisingly, there's a wide gap between interest and recognized value.
"There are amazing young and postwar photographers in Japan, but unfortunately they haven't had much of a stage for their work here," says Reyboz. "We felt there was something missing around photography and we wanted to offer them a stage." She adds, "There are foreign collectors, but there's no real photo market here."
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| "Barkhanes in the crater zone" © NASA/JPL/The University of Arizona/Éditions Xavier Barral. In "Mars, a photographic exploration," presented by Xavier Barral in partnership with NASA, JPL and The University of Arizona, at the Museum of Kyoto Annex. |
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The Museum of Kyoto Annex interior, © 2014 Naoyuki Ogino. Venue for "Mars, a photographic exploration," presented by Xavier Barral in partnership with NASA, JPL and The University of Arizona. |
A diverse mix of 12 art, fashion, and nature photographers -- veteran, young, Japanese, international -- will be showing works themed on humankind's relationship with the environment and our planet. The venues are also an intriguing blend. Highlights include Taishi Hirokawa at the Hosodono hall of Shimogamo Shrine, a World Heritage site; Werner Bischof at Mumeisha, a traditional Kyoto townhouse or machiya; Tim Flach at Shimadai Gallery; Stanley Greene at the Kondaya Genbei Kurogura villa; a show curated by Le Monde at the Yuhisai Kodokan villa; Anne de Vandiere at the Murin-an garden; and works by famed fashion photographer Lillian Bassman (1917-2012) at the Omiya campus of Ryukoku University.
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| The Museum of Kyoto Annex exterior, © 2014 Naoyuki Ogino. |
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"Royal White Tiger" © Tim Flach. In "More Than Human," Tim Flach (Hasselblad presents), at Shimadai Gallery Kyoto. |
In tandem is KG+, a commercial satellite event showing works by approximately 50 young emerging photographers at over 30 locations within the city. "There are many art universities in Kyoto, so we really want to give the photography students an opportunity to exhibit," says Reyboz. "We try to find them venues but they have to produce their own exhibitions, and can sell if they want. They also have a chance to meet the many curators and photo editors and other experts we will invite. We hope this will help them find other opportunities to exhibit."
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| Shimadai Gallery Kyoto exterior, © 2014 Naoyuki Ogino. Venue for "More Than Human," Tim Flach (Hasselblad presents). |
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"Headland, Torii on the Cliff," © Akiko Takizawa. In "Where We Belong," Akiko Takizawa, at Toraya Kyoto Gallery. |
Kyotographie 2014 will also offer educational programs with several Kyoto elementary, junior high, and senior high schools. Students can meet and interact with the artists and special guests. University student volunteers will assist at the festival's public programs, which offer film screenings, workshops, lectures, and more.
Reyboz and her festival co-founder/co-director and life partner Yusuke Nakanishi faced expected challenges in conservative Kyoto while organizing the first festival. But they've been able to garner support from numerous sponsors, including Chanel, Hearst Fujingaho publishers, Baccarat, Agnes B., and Hasselblad Japan.
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| Toraya Kyoto Gallery, © 2014 Naoyuki Ogino. Venue for "Where We Belong," Akiko Takizawa. |
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"19 August 1993 Mihama Fukui Pref.," © Taishi Hirokawa. In "Still Crazy," Taishi Hirokawa, at Shimogamo Shrine Hosodono. |
Their idea for Kyotographie was inspired by Les Rencontres d'Arles, an annual photography festival held in the south of France. The Kyoto event mirrors the French festival's sensibility, internationalism, and artistic purpose, qualities reflected in the couple as well. Reyboz grew up in French-speaking Mali, West Africa, and is an award-winning portrait photographer who first came to Japan in 1999. Nakanishi is a Japanese lighting artist and director for films, stage, and interiors.
"This project is the first of its kind for Kyoto," says Reyboz. "We really want people to connect with photography and discover the beautiful and unusual locations we have to show the work."
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Shimogamo Shrine Hosodono, © 2014 Naoyuki Ogino. Venue for "Still Crazy," Taishi Hirokawa.
All photographs courtesy of Kyotographie.
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Lucy Birmingham
Lucy Birmingham is a long-time, Tokyo-based journalist, scriptwriter, author, and former photojournalist. She currently serves as president of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. Her articles have appeared in many publications and websites, including TIME, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Bloomberg News, and Architectural Digest. As an arts and culture writer her articles have appeared in publications including Artinfo.com, Artforum.com, and ARTnews. She is also a scriptwriter and narrator for NHK (Japan's public broadcaster) and has published several books including Strong in the Rain: Surviving Japan's Earthquake, Tsunami, and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster.
lucybirmingham.com |
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