SFMoMA Museum of Modern Art

Naoya Hatakeyama

28 Jul - 04 Nov 2012

Naoya Hatakeyama
#03001, Trockener Steg (Matterhorn), from the series Another Mountain, 2005
courtesy the artist
© Naoya Hatakeyama, courtesy Taka Ishii Gallery
NAOYA HATAKEYAMA
Natural Stories
28 July - 4 November 2012

One of Japan's most prominent photographers, Naoya Hatakeyama is known for austere and beautiful large-scale pictures that capture the extraordinary forces we deploy to shape nature to our will — and, in photographs made after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, the equally powerful impact of natural forces on human construction. Whether photographing factories, quarries, mines, or his tsunami-swept hometown in northeastern Japan, Hatakeyama is a keen observer of landscapes in transition, witnessing scenes of transformation with calm precision. The artist's first solo exhibition in the United States, Natural Stories brings together more than 100 photographs and two video installations spanning Hatakeyama's entire career. It offers insights into his practice and place in the rich history of Japanese photography, and into the ways in which humanity and nature both clash and coexist.
 

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