Shin Suzuki :some photographs to see

<p>Hey-- check out the fantastic photography of <a

href="http://www.shinsuzuki.com">Shin Suzuki</a>. I have seen two

of his exhibitions here in Tokyo- the Under Construction exhibit and

another one that is not listed on his site. You can see through some

of his portfolios are <a

href="http://www.shinsuzuki.com/works/index.htm#">here</a>.</p>

 

<p>His intelligent photographs are slightly detached- they allow us

to share in his bemusent at what he points his camera at, and at the

same time see these things for the beauty that they are. This page

<a href="http://www.shinsuzuki.com/ss.htm">explains the

navigation</a> for his site if you get stuck. Enjoy.</p>

Thanks, that was really cool.

Some good stuff, I agree, buried among a lot of irrelevant b.s. (Friends at dinner? Playing with the family pooch? C'mon.) A lack of thumbnails made navigation time-wasting and annoying. A lot of forced irreverence, the kind I would expect from a young art school grad. Still, some good stuff here and there. It shows potential, irony overkill aside.

"Some good stuff, I agree, buried among a lot of irrelevant b.s. (Friends at dinner? Playing with the family pooch? C'mon.) "

 

Agreed!

Irrelevant bs? Irrelevent to what? It's the dude's journal. His portfolio section is organized into sections if you require clickable thumbnails.

Some very good work and some very questionable work. Taking pictures of pictures of men in a public toilet? turds? Didnt like the portraits gallery either. reminded me of that David Bailey book that came out last year, but i generaly dont like those kind of books.

 

Shame, he has a very good eye

<p>In the Winter 2004 issue of Aperture, Charlotte Cotton wrote an article about <a href="http://www.littlemore.co.jp/english/nameofartists/rinkokawauchi.html">Rinko Kawauchi</a>'s work "Utatane". While Kawauchi's work is different than Suzuki's, Cotton made a great observation regarding the Japanese understanding of photography, in particular the use of photographs in book form which are "typified by a lack of preciousness about single images or reproduction quality, and are concerned more with dynamic sequencing and <em>a sense of the wondrous immediacy of the medium</em>." (italics mine)</p>

 

<p>Suzuki, on his <a href="http://www.shinsuzuki.com/works/index.htm#">portfolio</a> page makes use of books, and his web presentation does it's best to be a book -- the Wallow series is viewable as a web slideshow, or as a "book". Beyond that though it is what and how he shoots that interests me (except for the turds...). I don't think that it is his responsibility as a photographer to always try to make modernist HCB "relevant" profound work. Most of it does however become completely relevant in the questions it makes the viewer ask- (the Construction site pictures and Desneyland (spelled on his page to avoid legal trouble) pictures come to mind).</p>

<p>Sure some of it is cheeky but not ever impersonal. It is his use of personal photography that energizes his work- be it unsettling pictures of a <a href="http://www.shinsuzuki.com/recent/060327f.htm">dog</a> or oddly made ones of <a href="http://www.shinsuzuki.com/recent/060324c.htm">friends at dinner</a>. The shadow of <a href="http://www.designautopsy.com/araki/article5.html">Araki's "I-Novel"</a> is never too far behind most Japanese young student photography. To these photographers, there is nothing that is too banal to be explored or made relevant (and beautiful) through the transformative power of photography. In this way, Shin Suzuki is living the photographic life in ways I don't see many photographers outside of Japan yet trying. The "shame" that was mentioned before might be better directed at the narrow expectations of some western modernist photographic traditions than at this photographer and his work.</p>

<p><em>The shadow of Araki's "I-Novel" is never too far behind most Japanese young student photography.</em></p><p>I know, I know.</p><p>Pity that it's this earnestly-discussed aspect of Araki. Araki himself when young -- now, he was different. Have you seen his "Sacchin" series? It's not Araki's journal, it's about Sacchin and Sacchin's mates, and much the better for it. I saw these photos by Araki in <a href="http://www2.acejp.com/Shop/shop/shop_3.asp?Co=1&act=show&code=ZK25-20">this great book</a>, which shows the work 25 old geezers did when they were in their twenties -- work that makes most of the new stuff just look like pretty color snaps.</p><p><em>To these photographers, there is nothing that is too banal to be explored or made relevant (and beautiful) through the transformative power of photography.</em></p>Agreed! The aspiration is OK, but do they achieve it?</p><p>Kawauchi's photos are very nice, if you like nice photos.</p><p>Well, I'm off to see Kuwabara's exhibition (starting today!) in the Ginza Nikon Salon of people in Minamata over the decades. Perhaps I'll suggest to him that he should photograph flowers, his dog, etc., instead.</p>

"The aspiration is OK, but do they achieve it?"

 

Yeah, I think that Suzuki here does- but not exactly in the most lamely obvious way. The

dog photograph is to me much less about a visual record of playing with a dog than it is

about how that dog looks in that photograph. There is some thread of darkness in his

work- the gibbon with a blank face in a glass case hanging from one arm- the comically

colored construction machine picking up another mechanical part in a small narrow and

tidy street- It looks like the work of someone who has grown up with a childhood that

included a saturation of popular culture with it's video games and comics. What separates

his work from just about every other kid in Tokyo with a camera is his intelligence in

making a picture. In the Kamakura series there is a Kamakura Daibutsu photo that is

unlike any other I have seen, the inculsion of a hand in the frame distorts the perspective

in the picture and mind. His work does not look like what gets posted here at Photo.net

and for this reason I thought you all might like to take a look.

 

 

And for what it's worth- a side benefit of this thread is that it was the road by which I was

able to see Arond A's great pictures. Click on his name and see his excellent work.

<p>Yes, I have to say that that dog shot is pretty good.</p><p>While we're on the subject of Japanese books, <a href="http://images-jp.amazon.com/images/P/4898300537.09.LZZZZZZZ.jpg">this</a>, in a slightly different genre, at least has a great title. (Actually the photos have some interest, but the book design is bad, the designer seemingly keen to split every photo across the center.)</p>