Amateur_Photographer_-_04_October_2019

66 28 September 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

Legends

of photography

‘I

can’tphotograph

anythingwithout

a city...Forme,

citiesareenormous

bodiesofpeople’sdesiresand

asI searchformyowndesires

withthem,I sliceintotime,

seeingthemoment.’

DaidōMoriyamaappears

tobeaneloquentbutgritty

monochromestreetspecialist,

followinginthefootstepsof

someofthegreatestpioneers

ofpostwardocumentary

photography,butwitha

particularJapaneseangle.In

fact,he’sa trailblazeranda

disruptor,somebodywhose

workelicitsmarkedlydifferent

responses.FrenchcriticHervé

Chandès cites his dark, sullen

Daidō

Moriyama

visionofurbanJapanand

praiseshis‘aggressiveness’,

whileSimonBaker,

photographycuratoratthe

Tate,describeshisworkas

‘wilfullyabstract’.

Aswithanyartist,tostartto

understandMoriyama’swork

involvessomeconsideration

ofthecultureandsocietythat

producedhim.Hewasbornon

outskirtsofthemercantilecity

ofOsakain1938,duringthe

highwatermarkofJapanese

militarism.Bythetime

hestartedworkingasa

photographerin1961,

thecountryhadchanged

immeasurably.Rather

thanbeingthenewcolonial

overlords of Asia, the Japanese

Asthe’60sunfolded,

Moriyamawasinfluencedbythe

counter-cultureinJapanese

society,whichquestioned

conventionalphotographic

aestheticsalongwitheverything

else.In 1972 hepublishedhis

signaturecollection,Shashin

yoSayonara(literally,farewell

photographs).It’sfullof

deliberate‘errors’andeven

includesnegativeshe’dinitially

chuckedontothestudiofloor.

Ashematured,however,he

founda balancebetweenthis

roughnessandrebelliousness,

andhisinitialcallingasa

documentaryphotographer.

Whatcanwelearnfrom

DaidōMoriyamatoday?First,

theimportanceofa prodigious

workethic.He’sbeenpounding

thecitystreetswitha camera

sincehisyouth.Second,notto

becomeobsessedwithtechnical

perfectionandaestheticclichés

attheexpenseofemotional

honestyandkeenvision.Third,

torememberthatgreatstreet

anddocumentaryphotography

is aboutpeopleandtheirsociety,

ratherthanfussingaboutthe

directionoflightortheangles

ofbuildingsoraboutthefiner

detailsoryourcameraset-up,

andmissinga great shot

as a result.

Despitehisartycredentials,thisgritty

Japanesestreetmasterisallabout

hard work, saysGeoff Harris

peoplewerehumbledandstill

disoriented,withmanyurban

neighbourhoodsdecimatedafter

the‘totalwar’policyoftheUS

AirForce.Japan’sfocuswas

onrapiddevelopmentand

urbanisation,helpedby

Americanpresidentsfearful

ofcommunism,andit wasn’t

untilthesuccessful 1964

TokyoOlympicsthatthe

countryreturnedfullyto

theinternationalfold.So

Moriyama’searlyworkfocused

onthedislocationcausedbythis

rapidmodernisation,andthe

‘leftbehind’areasandpeople

strugglingtocopewithchange.

Hisstylewasconsciously

roughandunpolished,

conveyingurbananxietyand

uncertaintythroughblur,wonky

horizonsandotherdevices.This

wasnomereartifice,however,as

Moriyamawasdowntrodden

anduncertainhimself,eking

outa livingasanassistantand

stayinginTokyoflop-houses

afterworkingonhisown

projects.Ratherthanworrying

about‘correct’exposureor

perfectframing,Moriyama

favouredquick,decisive

‘snapshots,’executing

imageswiththespeed

andsingle-mindedness

of a master swordsman.

©
DAID

Ō MORIYAMA

© GETT Y IMAGES

DaidōMoriyamacaptures

theessenceofgreat

streetphotography.

Discovermorein the

newbookHowI Take

Photographs, Laurence

King Publishing, £14.99