The title is the title of a photo book published by the late Mr. Kiyoshi Suzuki in 1982 and also the title of a photography exhibition currently being held at Fujifilm Square in Roppongi, Tokyo. I visited the exhibition the other day to observe and study it.
The following is a brief biography of the artist, compiled in my own way from the pamphlet and other materials I received.
Kiyoshi Suzuki (1943-2000)
Born in Yoshima Village (now Iwaki City), Fukushima Prefecture
When he was young, he was struck by Ken Domon’s “Chikuho no Kodomo-tachi” (Children of Chikuho). While working in Tokyo and attending the Tokyo College of Photography, he was discovered by Shoji Yamagishi, editor-in-chief of “Camera Mainichi” and began his “Series: Coal Mine Towns” in which he photographed his hometown.
Following “Song of Currents” and “Brahman’s Light,” he won the 33rd New Photographer’s Award of the Photographic Society of Japan for his self-published work “Tent City”.
He has since taught at the Tokyo College of Photography while continuing his activities as a photographer, and has left behind many works.
This time, he will be exhibiting works from the “Tent City” collection. The high-contrast black-and-white photographs show the expressions and lifestyles of people living in circus tents and on the streets.
My personal impression is that the photographer’s gaze is objective, neither warm nor cold, and unaffected. Most of the photographs are portraits, capturing people as they flow by. Strangely enough, my attention was drawn more to the photographer’s gaze than to the people or objects in the photographs. It is a slightly fresh sensation that is different from the black-and-white works of any other artists I have seen so far.
I can’t describe it well, and I may be way off base, so I’ll leave it at that.
The exhibition will be open until March 29, so if you are interested, please visit.
By the way, the Yomiuri Photo Grand Prize winning works were being exhibited at the next venue. It was stimulating to see so many excellent works by professionals and amateurs of all ages and genders, but one of the winning works in the “News Photo Division” made me shudder.
It was a photograph of the scene of the shooting of the former prime minister that shook all of Japan. Right behind the prime minister, who was standing on the floor holding a microphone, was a large image of the shooter at the very moment when he pulled out what looked like a gun from his pocket!
The candid snapshots I usually take, and the photos taken by news photographers who capture the tense moment. I was struck again by how far apart the two worlds are, even in the same photograph. I’m sorry if my impressions are a bit clichéd, but all I can say is that I was really “so frightened”.
