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Thursday, February 9, 2012

Kazuyoshi Usui


















Of all of the great photo books released last year, one of my very favorites is Kazuyoshi Usui's Showa 88. I fell in love with these photos at first glance. By using the history of the Showa Era with the direction given by classic Japanese black and white photographers as a starting point, Kazuyoshi picks up where they left off. The colors are remarkable- several shades I'm not sure I've ever even seen before. Made over the past ten years, the material in the book flows beautifully from page to page. Flowers, geishas, and quiet streets are some of the main images that pop up throughout. By utilizing an original and finely edited mix of color palettes, angles, and sentiments, the book unfolds in an unexpected yet entirely congruous way. Some of my favorites include a sky-high bird faded out by clouds, blurry cherry-blossoms, and the lonely photo of a man walking on an overpass, surrounded by hazy, blue-green light.



The book itself, published by Zen Foto Gallery, is equally lavish. Enclosed in a plain cardboard slipcase, the hardcover book is covered in iridescent pale pink satin, with a photo inlay on the cover.

Copies are available to order from Zen Foto Gallery in Tokyo.
For more information on Usui and his other projects, check out his site here.

With the assistance of Zen Foto's Mark Pearson, I was able to conduct the following interview with Usui about himself and his work.




ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT YOUR NEW BOOK IS YOUR USE OF THE COLOR PINK. ARE THERE CERTAIN COLORS OR THINGS YOU FIND YOURSELF NATURALLY DRAWN TO IN YOUR PHOTOS?

When I was young, I remember the appearance of long-forgotten photographs that emerged from an old drawer. The colour magenta was strong. This gives me the nostalgic feeling of the Showa era.

In this book, living is an important feeling. And death too. The colour pink gives me a strong feeling of living, in Japanese, "Ikiru".



WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Film, definitely. More than photographers, I am influenced by movies. In particular, Quentin Tarantino. What he does is to take things that already existed, and rearrange them. Hip-hop is the same. Taking great, old school music and rearranging it, out of respect.

I have done something similar, in photography. The 1960s in Japan were a golden era, with such greats as Hosoe Eikoh, Daido Moriyama and Araki. I am most intrigued by the photography of the 1960s. I ask myself what these greats would do if they were working afresh now. Showa 88 is not just about this, but the result is my interpretation of my influences and remixed for today.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE RECORDS?

Radio Bemba Sound System - Manu Chao, Ennio Morricone, Loaded - The Velvet Underground, Blue Lines - Massive Attack, Gorillaz - Gorillaz, Puertos de Alternativa - Agustin Pereyra Lucena, Kazemachi Roman - Happy End


WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE?


Of course, its the red light districts of Japan ("Akasen chitai").
Not the brothel cities of today. The "flower towns" ("hanamachi ") of the past.

My favourite is Tobita Shinchi (in Nishinari, Osaka). Why? It is here that the paradoxes of Japan are most apparent. The country has an "Entertainment Business Control Law" that limits operating hours to midnight, but relaxes it to 1 am on holidays. It's inconsistent and strange. Here gorgeous and cheap colours, good and bad taste are mixed perfectly.

ARE THERE ANY PROJECTS YOU ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON?

I'm working on a black and white series. "Karimono" is the provisional title. An English equivalent might be "borrowed". It deals with the flesh, life. The cycle from birth to death.

WHAT CAMERAS DO YOU LIKE USING MOST?

I like my Pentax 6x7 and Rolleiflex Integral and recently got a Leica S2. I still need to get used to this one.




HOW DOES DAILY LIFE AND YOUR SURROUNDINGS PLAY A PART IN YOUR WORK?

There is some connection. I take some inspiration from daily life and the places around me, of course.

WHAT IS THE OVERALL FEELING OR EMOTION YOU HOPE TO CONVEY IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS?

The first is provocation or a bit of needle. And the feelings that this provocation will bring, which is the impulse to do something. I'm not necessarily just aiming to convey a feeling, but this is what I want to do in my photographs.I definitely want to have this balance or tension; the gorgeous and the cheap, humour and violence, life and death.



All images copyright Kazuyoshi Usui, courtesy Zen Foto Gallery.

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