2015 | Dazai

Art Director: Satoshi Machiguchi

Exhibition Duration: June 28 - August 27, 2015

Lecture: June 28, 2015, 10 a.m.

Venue: Three Shadows +3 Gallery

       No. 155 A, Caochangdi, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China

Phone: +86 10 6431 9063

From June 28 to August 27, 2015, +3 Gallery will host the exhibition “Dazai: Daido Moriyama.” This exhibition was inspired by the publication of the Chinese edition of Daido Moriyama: Dazai. The exhibition will coincide with the publication of the book, and the exhibition will display 61 works, which have been chosen from Moriyama’s vast body of work.

Daido Moriyama’s work is often rough, shaky, and out of focus. John Szarkowski, influential American photography curator and Director of Photography at MoMA New York from 1962 to 1991, called his work “automatic writing.” His replicates his essential views of the world using photography. In 1970s Japan, there were two photographers experimenting with female nudes: Nobuyoshi Araki and Daido Moriyama. The magazine Provoke was founded in Japan in 1968, intended to establish a broader range of cultural criticism, which intervened in foundational ideas of Japan at the time. Daido Moriyama was believed to be the best articulator of this philosophical system, and so he was invited to join Provoke for its second issue, penetrating the mist that blanketed that era. During the Provoke years, Daido Moriyama’s style was very intense, and his books On the Road, Hunter, and Farewell Photography represent this early style.

At the end of 2014, Daido Moriyama published a photo book entitled Dazai. The book is a homage to Japanese writer Osamu Dazai, as Moriyama’s pictures have been matched with text from Dazai’s 1947 novel Villon’s Wife. At the exhibition, 61 pieces from Dazai: Daido Moriyama will be presented in the +3 Gallery space, and visitors will get a sneak peek at the Chinese edition of Dazai: Daido Moriyama. At 10 a.m. on June 28, the exhibition’s art director Satoshi Machiguchi will give a talk at +3 Gallery. Satoshi Machiguchi is the founder and art director of MATCH and Company, which has produced many Daido Moriyama photo books, including White and Vinegar, ANDO × ANDO-Photographs, Plant a Tree, and Araki Teller, Teller Araki. He will discuss the exhibition “Dazai: Daido Moriyama” and his experiences and behind-the-scenes stories of producing photo books.

Satoshi Machiguchi served as the designer and art director for “Dazai: Daido Moriyama.” The Chinese edition of Daido Moriyama: Dazai was planned by Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and Artron Art Books. The launch of the book Daido Moriyama: Dazai will coincide with the opening of “Dazai: Daido Moriyama,” and both will give a Chinese audience a deeper understanding of Moriyama’s photos. This exhibition is supported by the Daido Moriyama Foundation. On this occasion, +3 Gallery will formally partner with the Daido Moriyama Foundation, together seeking broader development.

Because of their ongoing interest in photo books and book collecting, RongRong & inri were delighted to direct the “Dazai: Daido Moriyama” exhibition. The development of Japanese contemporary photography is intimately related to the culture of photography books. This exhibition presents the entire journey from photographs to photo book, providing a more complete way of interpreting contemporary Japanese photography. The narrative, sense of instability, and unique perfection of Daido Moriyama’s work is fully expressed in the photo book.