My favorite part of Record 2 is the writing. The pictures are superlative, no doubt, but there is something so rigid and stylistic about Moriyama’s approach. The short texts, however, have an informal, conversational appeal, like he’s talking to you on the train. In them we witness Moriyama reflecting on ideas developed during his friendship with Takuma Nakahira; things he learned from Bruce Davidson, Eikoh Hosoi, Nobuyoshi Araki, and Eraserhead; the COVID lockdown; and receiving the Hasselblad Award
Even as it seems clear from Record 2 that the sun is slowly setting over a life in photography, Moriyama’s true legacy is going to remain with us for many years to come. But you will have to look past the harsh contrast of the black and white in the photographs to discover the multi-faceted human being behind them.
Travel provides a myriad of opportunities for the photographer to be visually re-inspired. We travel to Tokyo to peruse the bookshelf of local artists.
Japan is famous for its camera brands and love of photography, but outside of Daido Moriyama, most westerners would probably be hard-pressed to name a Japanese photographer. In browsing a number of titles at the Tsutaya bookstore, I was struck by the popularity of vernacular photography. And in a land replete with the highest resolution digital cameras and technical accuracy, many Japanese photographers seem to embrace film and aim for a grittier aesthetic – perhaps a photographic reflection of their concept of wabi-sabi or the acceptance of imperfection and transience.
Daido Moriyama is one of the most influential photographers in the history of the medium—but why take our word for it? The forthcoming book On Daido, from FBF, the publishing branch of the not-for-profit Fotobookfestival Kassel, features homages from 31 photographers and 21 writers exploring what it is about his deceptively simple images that continue to captivate and inspire so many to follow suit. The book is being funded through Indiegogo and, as of this writing, is about two-thirds away from target with just over two days left in the campaign.
Daido Moriyama has published what amounts to a lifetime of work, a vast series of contact sheets soberly lined up without empty space on the 300 thick pages of the book
The 28th Annual International Center of Photography Infinity Awards, held May 2 in New York City, paid tribute to its departing director, ICP director Willis E. “Buzz” Hartshorn, who last year announced he wanted to step down for medical reasons. Though H
Photographer Daido Moriyama won the Lifetime Achievement Award. A video that preceded the presentation showed Moriyama capturing his black-and-white, expressionistic images, shooting on the streets of Tokyo with a small pocket camera, sometimes from the hip or without looking through the viewfinder. Moriyama took his iconic photo “Stray Dog” while in his 20s, but for a time he abandoned photography, frustrated that his work was only copying. After falling into a period of drug use, he by chance found and bought a used Pentax and then returned to making art.
