Daidō Moriyama 森山大道 - The darker sides of urban life








"For me photography is not a means by which to create beautiful art, but a unique way of encountering genuine reality"

Born in Ikeda, Osaka, Dalido Moriyama studied photography under Takeji Iwamiya before moving to Tokyo in 1961 to work as an assistant to Eikoh Hosoe. He produced a collection of photographs, Nippon gekijō shashinchō, which showed the darker sides of urban life and the less-seen parts of cities. In them, he attempted to show how life in certain areas was being left behind the other industrialised parts.

His work was often stark and contrasting within itself. One image could convey an array of senses; all without using color. His work was jarring, yet symbiotic to his own fervent lifestyle.

Among the most famous of Moriyama's works is the 1971 shot of a stray dog (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) and many others featuring everyday objects or landscapes shot from unfamiliar angles, giving them a stark perspective.

Among the artists to have influenced Moriyama are Andy Warhol, William Klein and the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.

site: http://www.moriyamadaido.com/english/

Vincent Urbani

2 comments:

HUFFSTUTTER'S PHOTO ESSAYS said...

I would like to see more of Moriyama's work.

Check out my photos of Japan in 1961 - 1963

HUFFSTUTTER'S PHOTO ESSAYS said...

Thanks for posting a bit of Moriyama's work. I mentioned my work but did not give reference as to where you might find it:

BLOGABOUTJAPAN

or

Robert Huffstutter's Flickr Photostream.

Again, than you.

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