MORIYAMA, Daido - Color

Statement by the photographer, Daido MORIYAMA

"The young lady who coolly crosses my path is a work of art. The middle-aged man sitting on the sidewalk in front of her is also a work of art. The middle-aged woman feverishly shopping in a crowded store is also a work of art. The cat stretching and yawning on the wall over there is also a work of art. The young guy in Kabukicho, the couples walking in the love hotel district, and the drunks in Golden-Gai are all, through and through, works of art. In other words, the city of Tokyo is filled with art and all of its people are works of art. What about me, walking around with my digital camera, clicking away, and taking photos of this, that, and the other? Might I be a work of art too?" (free translated, © Daido MORIYAMA, March 7, 2012)


Background information

"Daido MORIYAMA shot approximately 30,000 photographs in Tokyo using his digital camera between 2008 and 2012 with a view to publishing them in a new publication. The result are the photo volumes 'Color' and 'Monochrome' the counterpart; the color photographs might be a surprise for the people who only know his b/w photographs he has published in his 'Provoke' era or in his 'Records' volumes, although there are some issues with color photographs.

Content

This photo volume, 'Color' by Daido MORIYAMA, contains a selection of 191 images which document Tokyo in-between 2008 and 2012. Images of street scenes, fleeting portraits and snapshots of his lived occurrences are visually placed within the new viewing context of color imagery. The resulting images present an exciting and stimulating viewing experience which lacks none of Daido MORIYAMA’s provocative use of black and white imagery.

About the Japanese photographer, Daido MORIYAMA (b. 1938 in Osaka)

Photo books by and about the work of Daido MORIYAMA