I read a review of a photo exhibition in a magazine or something, and my first thought was, “This looks a little difficult for me.”
Nevertheless, I was strangely intrigued by some of the works introduced, and felt drawn to them, so I decided to go, despite feeling that it was a little out of my league. The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Ebisu.
As usual, there were various events happening at the same time, but my main goal was the “Luigi Ghirri: Endless Landscapes” exhibition.
While individual works couldn’t be photographed, taking photos of multiple works within the frame to capture the exhibition atmosphere was allowed, so I took a few shots of the venue with my compact camera, the FUJIFILM XF10.
I was surprised to see so many visitors. I didn’t expect such a serious photo exhibition to be so popular. Tokyo is an amazing place.
And my impressions.
These are not photographs that strongly evoke emotion.
From the near and far scenes that catch the eye, Ghirri has selected subjects with some intention, photographed them matter-of-factly, collected the information matter-of-factly, and presented them matter-of-factly. Some works are clearly the result of meticulous calculation in the selection of subjects and composition, even to my untrained eye, but many others appear to be ordinary snapshots at first glance.
I don’t understand difficult photographic art theory, but despite the fact that each work is not particularly stimulating, I feel a quiet yet powerful pressure as a whole.
Each photograph quietly poses a question.
“How does this landscape appear to you?”
“And what about this one?”
And I feel as though my response is being observed.
“Ah, that’s how you feel! Hmm.”
“Oh, you don’t like this one, I see.”
As long as someone continues to take photographs, and as long as someone continues to view them, this dialogue will continue endlessly. That’s my own speculation as to why the exhibition is titled “Endless Landscape.”
After looking at so many, I felt mentally exhausted. It really hit me hard.
I wrote down some pretentious impressions, but I still don’t understand it at all. However, this was an interesting kind of “ununderstandability,” so it was good. I ended up buying the expansive exhibition catalog.
The exhibition runs until September. I highly recommend it to those who feel a connection.
