Eiichiro Sakata
13 Jul - 29 Sep 2013
EIICHIRO SAKATA
Enoshima
13 July – 29 September 2013
The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art is pleased to present the first public showing of Eiichiro Sakata's Enoshima, a photo series comprised mainly of landscapes encountered by the famed photographer during visits to Enoshima. Sakata, a master of portrait photography, began taking photos of summer beach goers at the seaside resort south of Tokyo during the latter half of the 1990s. The results after 16 years of shooting are vibrant portraits of Japanese youth and vivid still-lifes of their various belongings lying casually on picnic sheets, scenes that may be thought of as ′′portraits without people.′′ Together, they show the truly variegated character and rapidly changing face of contemporary Japan. In total, some 40 color photographs will be shown (including about 10 portraits). "I hope people living in these complicated and unpredictable times will feel a positive energy in these images of young people, and that that energy will lift up their spirits.′′ Instilled in the exhibition is the sincere hope for the future, of a photographer who through his full engagement with his subjects and his sharp and perceptive eye has captured and recorded the genuine spirit of his times.
Eiichiro Sakata was born in Tokyo in 1941 and graduated from Nihon University College of Art with a degree in photography. He worked at the advertising company Light Publicity Co., Ltd., whose list of many creators included the likes of Ikko Tanaka, Makoto Wada, and Kishin Shinoyama. In 1966, Sakata went to New York to study at the studio of the photographer Richard Avedon. In 1970, he held his first solo exhibition Just Wait at Ginza Nikon Salon in Tokyo. In 1993, he was invited to the Arles Photo Festival in France, a large international event within the photography world, where he also conducted workshops. He was made an honorary citizen of Arles in 1993. Among the general public, Sakata is most widely known for his portraits of notable figures that appear on the cover of the weekly magazine AERA (published by Asahi Shimbun). Without a break, Sakata has produced more than 1,000 cover portraits for the magazine since its debut in 1988. In 2004, he held the solo exhibition PIERCING THE SKY at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. In 2005, he was the recipient of the 24th Domon Ken Award and Lifetime Achievement Award of the Photographic Society of Japan. For his work, Sakata uses 8x10, 4x5 and 6x6 cameras and always shoots on film.
Enoshima
13 July – 29 September 2013
The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art is pleased to present the first public showing of Eiichiro Sakata's Enoshima, a photo series comprised mainly of landscapes encountered by the famed photographer during visits to Enoshima. Sakata, a master of portrait photography, began taking photos of summer beach goers at the seaside resort south of Tokyo during the latter half of the 1990s. The results after 16 years of shooting are vibrant portraits of Japanese youth and vivid still-lifes of their various belongings lying casually on picnic sheets, scenes that may be thought of as ′′portraits without people.′′ Together, they show the truly variegated character and rapidly changing face of contemporary Japan. In total, some 40 color photographs will be shown (including about 10 portraits). "I hope people living in these complicated and unpredictable times will feel a positive energy in these images of young people, and that that energy will lift up their spirits.′′ Instilled in the exhibition is the sincere hope for the future, of a photographer who through his full engagement with his subjects and his sharp and perceptive eye has captured and recorded the genuine spirit of his times.
Eiichiro Sakata was born in Tokyo in 1941 and graduated from Nihon University College of Art with a degree in photography. He worked at the advertising company Light Publicity Co., Ltd., whose list of many creators included the likes of Ikko Tanaka, Makoto Wada, and Kishin Shinoyama. In 1966, Sakata went to New York to study at the studio of the photographer Richard Avedon. In 1970, he held his first solo exhibition Just Wait at Ginza Nikon Salon in Tokyo. In 1993, he was invited to the Arles Photo Festival in France, a large international event within the photography world, where he also conducted workshops. He was made an honorary citizen of Arles in 1993. Among the general public, Sakata is most widely known for his portraits of notable figures that appear on the cover of the weekly magazine AERA (published by Asahi Shimbun). Without a break, Sakata has produced more than 1,000 cover portraits for the magazine since its debut in 1988. In 2004, he held the solo exhibition PIERCING THE SKY at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. In 2005, he was the recipient of the 24th Domon Ken Award and Lifetime Achievement Award of the Photographic Society of Japan. For his work, Sakata uses 8x10, 4x5 and 6x6 cameras and always shoots on film.