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Ancient japanese photography
Exhibition February 11 − March 28, 2021
Krasnoyarsk Museum Center "Peace Square" holds an exhibition "Ancient Japanese photography".
The exposition will present a unique and interesting collection of Japanese colored photographs of the Meiji era (1868–1912) from the funds of the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow. Today this collection is considered one of the largest in Europe.
Colorized photography is a special phenomenon that stands at the intersection of several traditions: European photography and Japanese traditional art. Its plots and motifs are reminiscent of the color woodcut (woodcut) ukiyo-e, which also flourished in the 19th century. The name of the genre is translated from Japanese as "pictures of the transitory world." The art of engraving of that time was strikingly consonant with photography - both arts were produced in circulation, in one way or another there is color, they are intended for the general public (at this time, Japanese engraving began to be collected outside Japan as well). The authors looked for plots in the diversity of city life, trying to capture the elusive reality and turning it into an ephemeral image on a fragile paper base.
At the exhibition, staged shots shot on the streets with extras and mise-en-scenes, completely constructed in the airless space of a photographic studio, where everyday life turns into an exotic ritual, and collective and typical images of geisha and samurai are portrayed by disguised actors, are side by side. But for all the unnaturalness in many compositions, the breath of life that is not subject to the artist involuntarily slips through: blurry ghost figures on the streets, direct displays of emotions in minor characters and moments "ugly" from the point of view of professional European photography, for example, the process of eating, where the heroes froze with their mouths open ... In many plots, deep symbolism is latent, as well as a special plasticity of realities: gardens, architecture, interiors, costumes, accessories and household items.
Based on site materials Krasnoyarsk Museum Center "Peace Square".
The exposition will present a unique and interesting collection of Japanese colored photographs of the Meiji era (1868–1912) from the funds of the Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow. Today this collection is considered one of the largest in Europe.
Colorized photography is a special phenomenon that stands at the intersection of several traditions: European photography and Japanese traditional art. Its plots and motifs are reminiscent of the color woodcut (woodcut) ukiyo-e, which also flourished in the 19th century. The name of the genre is translated from Japanese as "pictures of the transitory world." The art of engraving of that time was strikingly consonant with photography - both arts were produced in circulation, in one way or another there is color, they are intended for the general public (at this time, Japanese engraving began to be collected outside Japan as well). The authors looked for plots in the diversity of city life, trying to capture the elusive reality and turning it into an ephemeral image on a fragile paper base.
At the exhibition, staged shots shot on the streets with extras and mise-en-scenes, completely constructed in the airless space of a photographic studio, where everyday life turns into an exotic ritual, and collective and typical images of geisha and samurai are portrayed by disguised actors, are side by side. But for all the unnaturalness in many compositions, the breath of life that is not subject to the artist involuntarily slips through: blurry ghost figures on the streets, direct displays of emotions in minor characters and moments "ugly" from the point of view of professional European photography, for example, the process of eating, where the heroes froze with their mouths open ... In many plots, deep symbolism is latent, as well as a special plasticity of realities: gardens, architecture, interiors, costumes, accessories and household items.
Based on site materials Krasnoyarsk Museum Center "Peace Square".
Galleries at the exhibition
