Japan Through a Lens: Places & Faces (1865-1900)
January 18, 2003 - March 2, 2003
| Click to view images |
|
Author: Edith Frankel
|
| ôJAPAN THROUGH A LENSö: PLACES & FACES (1865-1900) These original albumin paper photographs, many of which have been hand tinted by the Ukiyoe artist of the Meiji Period (1867-1912),truly capture capsules of time as seen with a Japanese aesthetic eye. The love of nature on the one hand and the transfiguration of natural on the other, show the rangeof Japanese ideals of beauty. Landscapes of places which no longer exist or have been so changed as to be unrecognizable, are treasures which harken back to Imperial Japan. These photos show ôold Japanö with all its aspects both good and bad. The studio photographs done by Felix Beato, Baron von Stillfried,Kusakabe Kimbei and Ogawa speak of the magic the ôblack boxö held for not just the photographers and subjects but for the tourists who took these treasures home to remind them of the other side of the world.Daily activities are captured such as trades, dancing, gambling, visit to the blind masseur as well as children playing. A photograph of a crucifixion is captured in all its gore and fascination . A lady being carried in a rickshaw is contrasted with rice planters in the fields, along with another photo of agroup of Ainu, the aborigines of Japan. Mount Fuji as a backdrop of horses in the field. Forest scenes as well as seascapes are amongst the theme...
read more |
|
Site
design by Art on the Web