"What matters now? — Proposals for a new front page" Exhibition at Aperture Gallery

http://aperture.org/whatmattersnow/2011/masayo-nishimura/

Masayo Nishimura's photograhs - "The Silver Car at the 79th Street Station I & II ("Uptown Bound" series)" are included in their "Public Wall" exhibition.

http://aperture.org/whatmattersnow/
http://aperture.org/whatmattersnow/about-what-matters-now/

Exhibition on view:
Saturday, September 17, 2011–Saturday, September 24, 2011

What should we be looking at? The extraordinary number of photographs taken on September 11 made it the most photographed event in history and may have signaled the birth of citizen journalism. However in our impulse to record, we have not formulated new strategies to a better understanding of today's pressing issues of a globalized world. There is no longer a "front page" to act as a societal filter through which, we can learn about important events and trends. Even the role that the physical café once played in our communities—the place we went to discuss and digest what's going on around us—has become fragmented across a myriad of virtual spaces.

Ten years post-9/11, at a time when we are more overloaded with information than ever but cannot access it in a coherent manner, Aperture will create a visual café for collective social engagement with the question: What Matter's Now? and turn it into an evolving exhibition space. During a two-week period Aperture will turn itself "inside out," letting participants engage in the editorial process of weighing questions, ideas, and images, and proposing conceptual and curatorial solutions. Both invited guests and gallery visitors will be asked to participate. The exhibition What Matters Now? Proposals for a New Front Page will combine the crowd sourcing of images and ideas with the curatorial engagement of six experienced individuals, each hosting a table and a conversation within the space, where on corresponding walls each group will present its proposals for the contents of a 'New Front Page'. Hosts include a variety of visual image specialists: Wafaa Bilal, Melissa Harris, Stephen Mayes, Joel Meyerowitz, Fred Ritchin (who conceptualized this project), and Deborah Willis.

As the exhibition opens, each of the six hosts will have a designated space, but the walls will be empty. Progressively throughout the first two weeks of the "exhibition," the walls will be filled in whatever manner each table decides. As the exhibition emerges, its contents will be posted online, daily, via a dedicated blog, as well as via Facebook and Twitter, at aperture.org/whatmattersnow and #whatmattersnow; allowing remote participants to respond and to create a seventh wall dedicated to ideas from the public.

Uptown Bound – 2006 show, press release (longer version)

The view from W.T.C Observation deck #1, 1994





Uptown bound

I began studying photography in 1993. From the beginning I was attracted to the lights and shadows created by subway architecture, especially the way the roofs of cars and tracks are bathed in light from the street. I always marveled at the effects so produced; they reminded me of Medieval religious paintings. Down in the station, I often felt as if I were inside of a huge fish tank, with blurry passengers and cars floating by in the depths. Illuminated by artificial light, everything looked quiet and detached from this reality. The lighting often created dreamlike shadows, sometimes creating ghostly effects. I was always fascinated with the surreal images created by this everyday environment.

I used a 35mm SLR camera for first couple of years. Then in fall 1999, I experimented with a rented Hasselblad with B & W film. Since that was a medium format camera and difficult to operate by hand, I set up a tripod on the platform with a cable release. Without a flashlight, instead I used a long exposure and a slow shutter speed in order to capture the transforming contours of shadows over time. I worked at the stations when they were relatively empty-- such as early mornings and on weekends, because I didn’t want to get unnecessary attention. Still, I was unaware of regulations prohibiting the use of tripods in stations.

In April 2000, I visited the station again with the same Hasselblad. I wanted to try color films this time. That was a sunny Sunday morning and I felt the lighting through the street level looked perfect. Just like I did before, I set up my tripod in the platform and started pressing the cable release. I continued to do so for about thirty minutes until a policeman interrupted me. That was the first time that I was ever interrupted in my shooting. I was disappointed, but the results of that half hour's work developed quite beautifully, and I felt quite blessed. The images I captured that morning were exhibited in a group show which opened at the SoHo Photo Gallery in Tribeca on Thursday, September 6th, 2001.

On the fifth day into the exhibition, Tuesday September 11th, I woke up late to see that the Twin Towers were already crushed by terrorists and had disappeared from the skyline. The world I lived in and loved for the past fourteen years had suddenly vanished. The gallery was located just a few blocks away from the WTC. The show had to be temporarily closed due to circumstances shutting off everything in Manhattan south of 14th street.

On Saturday the 15th, I visited the gallery to make sure that everything was okay. I got off the subway at 14th Street and started walking on 6th avenue, headed downtown. The skyline without the World Trade Center seemed shockingly vast and empty. The gallery itself was unaffected but the area around it was filled with dust and debris. The smell of the burning buildings was still so unbearably strong that my eyes were irritated and it was hard for me to breathe. Though the show reopened briefly by the last week of the September, the visitors were, as one would expect, few. Still I had hoped some people would stop by to enjoy the artworks for a moment, no matter how tragic the world had turned.

While the city was struggled to recover, subway cars started displaying American flags as a symbol of patriotism. Soon "The War against Terrorism" began, which was extended to war in Iraq. The world grew fearful of terrorist threats and train stations became a target--a station in Madrid was bombed in 2003, London had a bombing in its system in 2005. Homeland security in New York City grew more tightened than ever. The New York City Transit tried, unsuccessfully, to ban all photography in subways, citing "security concern."

To my friends' surprise, I did care less about the news since I no longer wanted to photograph subway stations. I stopped taking pictures in the subway not because I was afraid of breaking regulations, but because I just didn't feel like going back to the place that once so freely sparked my creative imagination. Nurtured by an artist-friendly atmosphere for years, the entire city let me be absorbed in my creative works. The city had lost its innocence in the aftermath of the attacks, and I was wondering if my faith in my home was dissolving as well. If I were a documentary photographer, I could have continued for journalistic purposes. But I was a fine art photographer. So, I decided to do something else rather than taking photos in the subways.

For the last four years, my subway photos were in my closet, hidden from the public. I had a strange feeling that it might have been inappropriate to show them. I felt as if it might be better to keep my subway photos unseen until the world was be peaceful and secure again. I had no idea when that would happen, though--probably not in my lifetime. Then, recently I took a second look at those archived photos. The neatly printed and framed pictures still looked quite fresh and beautiful. While looking at them, I remembered the chaotic time when those were last exhibited. I thought I should give them another chance to be seen.

So, here they are. I am finally able to show my subway photographs to the public again. These works remind me of the innocence of New York City before 9/11, the city I've loved so dearly since I moved here two decades ago.

Masayo Nishimura

Fall, 2006

Uptown Bound – First & Another 10th Anniversary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Masayo Nishimura
Uptown Bound – First & Another 10th Anniversary
Photography

September 8 – 16, 2011
At: Gallery 502a
Address: 526 W. 26th St., bet. 10th & 11th Ave. 5th floor, Studio 502a

Hours: 7 days a week, 2 pm – 7 pm, including Sunday Sept. 11th & Monday Sept. 12th.
*Thursday Sept. 8th will open at 5 pm, Friday Sept. 16th will close at 5 pm

*There is no opening reception, however the artist will be present in the gallery every day during open hours.
For more information, please call: 646-761-2043
E-mail: gallery502a@gmail.com

Gallery 502a is pleased to present Masayo Nishimura’s Uptown Bound, the artist’s fourth solo exhibition of her photographic works under the same title. Uptown Bound is a series of color photographs dealing with the lights and shadows created by New York City subway architecture, in which the roofs of cars and tracks are bathed in light from the street level, looking quiet, beautiful, and reminiscent of medieval religious paintings. Since Uptown Bound was first exhibited in September 2001 in New York City, it has been exhibited in various galleries including the Abrons Arts Center, Henry Street Settlement in 2008, and has been receiving enthusiastic responses from viewers, especially from people living in the city.

Nishimura began studying photography in 1993. From the beginning she was attracted to the lights and shadows created by subway architecture, especially the way the cars and tracks are bathed in light from the street. She always marveled at the effects produced. Down in the station, Nishimura often felt as if she were inside a huge fish tank, with blurry passengers and cars floating by in the depths. Illuminated by artificial light, everything looked quiet and detached from reality. The lighting often created dreamlike shadows, sometimes creating ghostly effects. Nishimura was always fascinated with those surreal images.

In fall 1999, Nishimura experimented for the first time with a rented Hasselblad and B & W film. Since it was a medium format camera and difficult to operate by hand, she installed a tripod with cable release on the platform. Instead of using a flash, she used a long exposure and a slow shutter speed to capture the transforming contours of shadows over time. Then in April 2000, Nishimura visited the station again with the same Hasselblad, this time using color film. It was a bright Sunday morning and she felt as if the lighting from the street level looked ideal. Just as she had done before, she set up her tripod on the platform and pressed the cable release. Nishimura continued to press the cable release for about thirty minutes until a policeman interrupted her. The results of that half- hour's work developed quite beautifully and she felt blessed.

The images Nishimura captured that morning were first exhibited in a solo show, which opened at the SoHo Photo Gallery in Tribeca on Thursday, September 6th, 2001. On the fifth day into the exhibition, Tuesday September 11th, she woke up late to see that the Twin Towers were already crushed by terrorists and had disappeared from the skyline. The gallery was located just a few blocks away from the WTC. The show had to be temporarily closed due to circumstances shutting off everything in Manhattan south of 14th street.

While the city was struggling to recover, subway cars started displaying American flags as a symbol of patriotism. Soon The War against Terrorism began, which was extended to war in Iraq. The world grew fearful of terrorist threats and train stations became a target, and homeland security in New York City grew more tightened than ever. The tense condition has not improved much over the decade. Now these photographic works remind her of the innocence of New York City before 9/11, the city Nishimura has loved so dearly since she moved here two decades ago.

This exhibition marks the 10th anniversary of the works since those were first exhibited in the middle of the chaotic time that changed New Yorkers lives including the artist herself forever.

About Masayo Nishimura:

Masayo Nishimura is a native of Osaka, Japan. In 1986, she moved to New York to study dance. In 1993, she began her study of photography at CUNY Hunter College under Professor Mark Feldstein, where she discovered her visual interest in NYC subway stations. She also took several workshops at the School of Visual Arts & the International Center of Photography. Since then her subway-themed photographic works have been exhibited in various galleries in New York City.

In 1996, while continuing her study of photography, she also started learning computer art at the School of Visual Arts and completed her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1999. Her thesis animation film, "Dream" – a subway love story has been screened worldwide and has won various awards including New York regional finalist of the 27th Student Academy Awards. In 2000 "Dream" was screened at the Museum of Modern Art as an official selection of the "New Directors/New Films Festival" sponsored by the Cinema Society of Lincoln Center and MOMA.
In 2000, she started working on a series of color photographs dealing with the lights and shadows created by subway architecture. The work entitled “Uptown Bound” was first exhibited in September 2001 in New York City and has been receiving enthusiastic responses from viewers. In 2008 she returned to her native land and captured everyday scenes in the Tokyo subway. Those works was first exhibited in 2011 in an exhibition titled "Recollections: From New York to Tokyo" which evoked responses from viewers as the transformation of an everyday scene into a unique expression. Currently she lives and works in New York City.
For more information please contact Masayo Nishimura:

Masayo Nishimura:
mniart@aol.com
https://ceresgallery.org/?page_id=1091

Hiroshima 66th Anniversary: Thoughts Of Fukushima Nuclear Plant Cloud Ceremonies

Japan's annual commemorations of the Aug. 6, 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima were particularly poignant this year, with thoughts quickly turning to those living near the Fukushima Nuclear Plant left crippled by the devastating March earthquake and tsunami.

As the Japan Times is reporting, many Hiroshima survivors and family members expressed solidarity with Fukushima victims during ceremonies on the eve of the 66th anniversary. "Nobody knows the fear and uncertainty Fukushima residents face over radiation levels better than the people of Hiroshima," 68-year-old Setsuko Kumazaki, who lost several relatives in Hiroshima, is quoted as saying.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, this year’s speech by Mayor Kazumi Matsui -- scheduled after a minute-long silence at 8:15 a.m., the time when the U.S. dropped a four-ton uranium bomb in the final days of World War II -- has been much anticipated because he is the city’s first mayor born after 1945, and the son of an A-bomb survivor. A U.S. representative is scheduled to attend the ceremony for the first time, the BBC reports.

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has vowed to scale back the nation's reliance on nuclear power and make more use of solar energy and other renewable power sources.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/05/hiroshima-anniversary-fukushima-nuclear-plant_n_919529.html#s323248

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---In the summer of 1945, my father was a 20 year old soldier whose troop was stationed near Hiroshima.

On August 7th, the day after the Hiroshima bombing, his troop was ordered to go to the ruined city for relief activities. He ended up staying in the middle of aftermath for 10 days for picking up a tremendous number of unidentified bodies and cremating them in various spots such as school yards and railroad tracks.

While he was staying there, he took food & water anything available, and at night he dig a hole in the wet ground to sleep in it. Soon many of his fellow soldiers started having mysterious sickness includes diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, headaches, etc - that became clear later as a “Radiation sickness” or “Acute Radiation Syndrome.”

Surprisingly, my father did not suffer seriously from those radiation sickness. Considering he was sickly skinny young man who barely passed the physical exam for conscription, that was miracle. Next 60 years of his life, he was basically fine owing largely to my mother's strict dietary management. But he had never forgotten what he saw there. Once I was about 12, he drew a picture and explained to us about what he actually saw there, very graphically. That was a shocking experience to any children and he did not do the same thing never again.

About the time when he was turning 80, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was hard to say whether or not his cancer was caused from the incident that he spent 10 days in Hiroshima 60 years earlier. However, according to mother, just a few months before he died at the age of 84, he applied to the Japanese government to issue him an official certificate of A-bomb victims (Hibakusha Techo).

I didn't know but indeed those people who worked for rescuing duties right after the bombing were included as the eligible recipients. But why he wanted to do so at the nearly end of his life? For money? He was a well-to do businessman who hardly needed financial support from the government. I guess, probably he wanted to convince himself before leaving this life, that his illness came from having been there, working for his own country.

Eikoh Hosoe

Eikoh Hosoe
Kamaitachi
1965

Eikoh Hosoe (細江 英公, Hosoe Eikō, born 18 March 1933 in Yonezawa, Yamagata) is a Japanese photographer and filmmaker who emerged in the experimental arts movement of post-World War II Japan. He is known for his psychologically charged images, often exploring subjects such as death, erotic obsession, and irrationality. Through his friendships and artistic collaborations he is linked with the writer Yukio Mishima and 1960s avant-garde artists such the dancer Tatsumi Hijikata.

---According to Daido Moriyama's essay book, Moriyama started his career as Eikoh Hosoe's assistant and did all the printing works for "Yukio Mishima" series.
Hosoe's photo book of a Butoh dancer Tatsumi Hijikata, titled "Kamaitachi"is my all time favorite.

Daido Moriyama: On The Road" A Retrospective Exhibition & Talk show, The National Museum of Art, Osaka July 2nd 2011

"Daido Moriyama: On The Road"
A Retrospective Solo Exhibition
June 28 – September 19, 2011
The National Museum of Art, Osaka

A retrospective which reflects upon half a century of Moriyama‟s works since his debut in 1965, consisting of an overall of 400 photographs taken in accordance with the publication of over 10 major portfolios. Approximately 100 color photographs taken of Tokyo will also be presented as part of the exhibition.
For more info, Osaka web page:
http://http://www.nmao.go.jp/en/exhibition/index.html
www.moriyamadaido.com

Here's his Wiki:

"Born in Ikeda, Osaka, Daidō Moriyama studied photography under Takeji Iwamiya before moving to Tokyo in 1961 to work as an assistant to Eikoh Hosoe. He produced a collection of photographs, Nippon gekijō shashinchō, which showed the darker sides of urban life and the less-seen parts of cities. In them, he attempted to show how life in certain areas was being left behind the other industrialised parts.
Though not exclusively, Moriyama predominantly takes high contrast, grainy, black and white photographs within the Shinjuku area of Tokyo, often shot from odd angles.
Moriyama's photography has been influenced by Seiryū Inoue, Shōmei Tōmatsu, William Klein, Andy Warhol,Eikoh Hosoe, the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima and Jack Kerouac's On the Road.
Moriyama has written a memoir titled Memories of a Dog."

On July 2nd, I went to see Daido Moriyama (1937-)'s Retrospective & talk show.

This was his first major Retrospective ever held in Osaka - his birth place. The exhibition covered almost entire his works since his first debut in 1965, which was divided into 7 or 8 huge exhibition rooms according to his series titles chronologically.

His talk show started at the entrance room little after 2 p.m. I went there trying to catch a glimpse of him but the room was already packed. I could hear his voice anyway. The talk show was little boring. There was no Q & A between he and his fans. Only a moderator who was holding a microphone could ask question to him about very basic ideas of his series in each exhibition room.

He was not talkative person and his answers were quite simple. So, during the talk show, we all kept following him one room after another. Once in a while, I could see him a little bit. He was a short but well built, extremely young-looking 74 years old man with full of black hair. He seemed little shy and I somehow got an impression that he must have been the man of perennial youth; man who had never lost his youthful vigor.

He talked about his current equipment - DIGITAL CAMERA. Surprisingly he was so quick to move into digital from manual print-making. He had been well known for his dramatic darkroom works such as dodging, burning, adding huge contrast to negatives etc. Now he does those things with photoshop...probably.

After the show, there was a book signing event. I didn't go but I bought several his essay books at the museum shop anyway. His essay was far more interesting than his talk show. He was so honest & fluent to express himself in his books.

Osaka backstreet, July 3rd 2011

Osaka subway station, July 2nd 2011

Osaka subway station, July 2nd 2011

Tokyo, Shinjuku June 28th 2011

Tokyo, Shinjuku June 28th 2011

Dogs Rescued from Fukushima Exclusion Zone - June 2011

She was rescued from Fukushima exclusion zone in March 2011. Her temporary name is "Aile-chan." She is about 9 years old. Her original owner is still missing since March 11. I met her in the Tsunami Relief event held at Roppongi-Hills, Tokyo on Jnne 29th.

For more info (Japanese only):
http://jdtadogadopt.wordpress.com/

Saving memories #2 - June 2011

Saving memories - June 2011

On June 4th at 10:31PM, my mother passed away.
She was 81 years and 126 days old.

"Danchi" (public-housing complexes) in Osaka

These concrete housings are so-called "Danchi" (public-housing complexes) in the center of Osaka city, where my family once lived in the early '60s. 

 From the mid-50s, the "Danchi" began appearing throughout Japan. At the time, they represented dream-like progress for young families in post-war Japan with their 2DK (two rooms plus a dining/kitchen) style. Now they are considered way too old in style & equipment, and many cities are about to rebuild them into high-rise buildings. 

In March 2011, I visited the "Danchi" first time since our family left. That was a little haunted experience. Luckily the complex where our family lived was still there. However, the front yards, once filled with children's lively voices, seemed silent like an abandoned place. Once beautifully painted concrete walls were covered with spotted dirt and rust. Window frames were rusty, and gardens were rank with weeds.

By 5 PM, I didn't see any live human but one lady. The little white-haired lady was quietly sitting on the stairs beside the entrance of her complex, smiling warmly like a spirit of a dead person or something. She told me that she moved here in the early '70s with her family. Now she, a widow, became one of the last tenants since all others already moved into the replaced high-rise housing (which is about to complete the construction)adjacent to "Danchi." She was not happy to move there since the new place would cost more in monthly maintenance for their high-tech security & elevator equipment.

The Osaka city already planned to demolish this "Danchi" all together this fall, and I was lucky to catch the last glimpse of them.

Hiroshima: Ground Zero 1945 MAY 20–AUGUST 28, 2011

This show also just opened at small gallery in ICP. Since some area of Japan has been exposed to high levels of radioaction after the recent Fukushima plant meltdown, this exhibition couldn't be more timely for any people to look back how this country went though with nuclear power in the past. I just wish ICP had re-printed those pictures in much bigger size.

"After the United States detonated an atomic bomb at Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the U.S. government restricted the circulation of images of the bomb's deadly effect. President Truman dispatched some 1,150 military personnel and civilians, including photographers, to record the destruction as part of the United States Strategic Bombing Survey. The goal of the Survey's Physical Damage Division was to photograph and analyze methodically the impact of the atomic bomb on various building materials surrounding the blast site, the first "Ground Zero." The haunting, once-classified images of absence and annihilation formed the basis for civil defense architecture in the United States. This exhibition includes approximately 60 contact prints drawn from a unique archive of more than 700 photographs in the collection of the International Center of Photography. The exhibition is organized Erin Barnett, Assistant Curator of Collections."

Elliott Erwitt: Personal Best at ICP MAY 20–AUGUST 28

--I got Mr. Elliott Erwitt's autograph at Icp today. I knew his show has just started, and Friday night was free admission at ICP. But I didn't expect that he was sitting there for a book signing event. I didn't have enough money to purchase his new photography book ($55), but I bought his notebook ($14.95), and he was nice enough to sign it for me. He was a cool guy. His show was about his personal best selected from his life-long works since 1948. His photographs are human, humorous, sophisticated, and precise that I am truly inspired. 

"This major retrospective showcases the career of photographer and filmmaker Elliott Erwitt (1928 -), the recipient of this year's ICP Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement. Distinguished as both a documentary and commercial photographer, Erwitt has made some of the most memorable photographs of the twentieth century, including portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy, and Che Guevara, as well as astonishing scenes of everyday life, filled with poetry, wit, and special sense of humor. Born in Paris in 1928 to Russian émigrés, Erwitt grew up in Italy and France and emigrated to America with his family in 1939. An active photographer since 1948, Erwitt sought out Edward Steichen, Robert Capa, and Roy Stryker in New York in the early 1950s, and they became his mentors. With Capa's encouragement, Erwitt joined Magnum Photos in 1953. Erwitt is both an eyewitness to history and a dreamer with a camera, whose images have been widely published in the international press and in more than twenty books. On view are over 100 of his favorite images from the past sixty years, as well as some previously unseen and unpublished prints from his early work.".

Tokyo, Shinjuku March 27th 2011

Tokyo, Ebisu March 27th 2011

Tokyo, Shinjuku March 26th 2011

One month after the day, April 11th 2011

I left NYC on March 2nd to visit my mother in Osaka, Japan. I was planning to stay with her for a month. On Friday, March 11th, I went to the dentist's office, located in the suburban city of Osaka Prefecture.

At 2:30 PM, I sat on the dentist's reclining chair and opened my mouth wide so that the doctor could drilling out my bad cavity in my left upper mauler. The doctor was a gentle person in his 70's and used an extremely gentle treatment approach. So, I knew that I didn't need to scream for pain, but still, I was furious since I haven't visited any dentists for two decades (!).

When the doctor started drilling, I closed my eyes and just hoped the time would pass fast. Then about 15 minutes into the treatment, suddenly, he stopped drilling. "Did you feel earthquake?" He asked the nurse who was standing beside him for assistance. The nurse replied, "Yes, I did a little bit." Then the doctor asked me. "Did you feel that too?" I said, "No, I haven't. I didn't feel anything but being drilled." Then he smiled at me and returned to the treatment.

I left the office about an hour later and went to the nearby shopping mall. In the late afternoon, the supermarket in the mall was full of customers for grocery shopping. Most of them were women, some with babies or infants. Also, some elderly male shoppers were juggling shopping lists & coupons, dragging their shopping carts while the store workers were shouting at them about the day's best deal in a cheerful voice—just another ordinary day.

After the shopping, I took a bus and came home around 5 PM. As soon as I opened the door, my mother ran into me. She told me that the vast earthquake hit the northern Japan include Tokyo around three o'clock. The quake sent a massive Tsunami that crashed into the Pacific coast, wiping entire towns and villages. In Tokyo, many buildings were burning out of control. Hundreds of people died or went missing.

I hurried into the living room and watched the Tsunami scenes on TV, speechless with disbelief. Then I remember that I was scheduled to go to Tokyo the day after. The hotel was already booked for five nights. "You have to cancel the trip. Tokyo is too dangerous now." Mother insisted. Confused, I was not sure what to do. I was thinking of the people whom I was supposed to meet there. "I'll call them and decide tomorrow morning," I told mother so, and the two of us kept staring at TV monitor the rest of the evening. At that time, we didn't know what kind of crisis would be followed by this quake-tsunami disaster yet.

Local shrines in Kyoto & Osaka