Part 3: My Beginning with Art and Letting Go

© DAIDO MORIYAMA

Mr. Moriyama's talk show concluded to great acclaim, and the "Daido Moriyama Photo Exhibition 'it'" is now halfway through. This content has also reached its third week before we knew it.
This time, I'd like to turn back the clock a bit and talk about the origins of Hysteric Glamour's art activities, which led to the establishment of RAT HOLE Gallery.

It all began in 1987, three years after the launch of Hysteric Glamour. Inspired by the artistic catalogs created by Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto, which were pioneering at the time, I decided we should start something similar, and that's how I became involved with art and publishing.

Inspired by the catalogs of Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto
Mexico and Guatemala

Once I get an idea, my personality compels me to act immediately. I promptly went to Mexico and Guatemala, where I conducted model shoots for our clothing, treating them as artistic works. After that, I continued shooting from various angles, crossing America, visiting Thailand, and of course, in Tokyo as well.
However, no matter how much I focused on the situation, I realized that "ultimately, it all depends on the photographer."

Amidst this, I happened to be helping a photographer friend move. While there, I saw a self-published American photo book from the 70s that he owned. It was highly documentary in content, and the moment I saw it, I thought, "This is it!"

So, I pushed forward and began the "hysteric" series in '91. However, up until the third issue, I still had doubts, wondering, "Is this really the right direction?"

What completely helped me overcome those doubts was my encounter with Mr. Moriyama's photo books, specifically "Are You Hungry?" and "Light & Shadow," which I mentioned in the second-to-last installment.
From then on, it took me a year and a half or two years to create a single book. I was completely absorbed in it. At the time, I imagine people within the company were thinking, "What are those guys up to?" Well, looking back, this activity has become an indispensable part of Hysteric Glamour (laughs).

Next time, I will share details from the talk show with Mr. Moriyama at RAT HOLE GALLERY, which I mentioned at the beginning, so please look forward to it.

HYSTERIC GLAMOUR Official: http://www.hystericglamour.jp
Daido Moriyama Official: http://www.moriyamadaido.com
Bueno! Books: http://www.buenobooks.com

To commemorate the exhibition, a "DAIDO MORIYAMA × RAT HOLE GALLERY × HYSTERIC GLAMOUR" T-shirt is also available for ¥10,290 (tax included).

■ Daido Moriyama Exhibition "DAIDO MORIYAMA it"

Dates: Friday, October 13, 2006 – Sunday, November 19, 2006
Hours: 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM (Closed Mondays)
Venue: RAT HOLE GALLERY
B1F, HYSTERIC GLAMOUR Aoyama Store, 5-5-3 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku
TEL: 03-6419-3581

● Daido Moriyama Book Signing Event
Saturday, November 4th, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
For details, please visit www.ratholegallery.com.