ART | Kazuo Kitai's First Solo Exhibition at a Museum, "Scenery I Once Saw"
ART│A close-up, everyday documentary focusing on the ordinary individual.
Kazuo Kitai: 'Scenery I Once Saw'
Kazuo Kitai, a leading Japanese photographer who received the first Kimura Ihei Award in 1976, presents his first solo exhibition at a museum, 'Scenery I Once Saw.' The exhibition will be held at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum in Ebisu from Saturday, November 24, to Sunday, January 27, 2013. This retrospective and comprehensive exhibition, offering a singular view of Kitai's career from his representative works to his latest creations, is not to be missed.
Text by YANAKA Tomomi
Debut Exhibition of Latest Work 'Michi'
Born in 1944, Kitai dropped out of Nihon University's College of Art, Department of Photography. In 1965, he self-published 'Resistance,' a photo collection on the protest against the docking of a nuclear submarine in Yokosuka. From 1969, he serialized 'Sanrizuka,' a record of the opposition movement against the New Tokyo International Airport (Narita Airport), in the magazine 'Asahi Graph.' His images, capturing the daily lives of farmers involved in the struggle, garnered high acclaim as a new form of documentary photography. He has since published works such as 'Mura e' (To the Village), documenting depopulated rural areas, and 'Funabashi Story,' focusing on the people living in the urbanizing city of Funabashi, meticulously chronicling societal changes through his camera.
This exhibition can be considered a comprehensive survey of his work. Featuring 206 pieces in total, it includes early works like 'Kagakuhha' (Radical Left) and 'Barricade,' recent pieces such as 'Otenki' (Weather) and 'Walk with a Leica,' and his latest work 'Michi' (Road), which exclusively photographs roads in the Tohoku region before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Related events will also be held during the exhibition period. Talks with Kitai and guest speakers are planned for Saturday, December 15, and Saturday, January 12. Additionally, a special New Year's floor lecture by Kitai himself will take place on Thursday, January 3. Concurrently, a catalog featuring images of all exhibited works, commentary by the artist, and a timeline including his personal history will be published to coincide with this exhibition.
Kitai has consistently focused his lens on the 'everyday' within themes such as student movements, the Narita Airport opposition, and the original landscapes of rural villages, capturing them from an internal perspective. We invite you to experience his intimate documentaries, which possess a sense of nostalgia and fresh immediacy.
Talks with the Artist and Guests
Kazuo Kitai x Ryuichi KANEKO (Senior Researcher, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum)
Date | Saturday, December 15
Time | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Kazuo Kitai x Chotoku TANAKA (Photographer)
Date | Saturday, January 12
Time | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Venue | Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, 1F Atelier
Capacity | 70 people each
*Participation possible with exhibition ticket stub
*Numbered tickets will be distributed from 10:00 AM at the 1F reception on the day of the event.
Special New Year's Floor Lecture
Date | Thursday, January 3
Time | 11:30 AM onwards
Commentary by | Kazuo Kitai, Satomi FUJIMURA (Curator, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum)
Kazuo Kitai: 'Scenery I Once Saw'
Dates | Saturday, November 24 - Sunday, January 27, 2013
Hours | 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM (*Thursdays and Fridays until 8:00 PM; January 2 & 3 from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM)
Closed | Mondays (*December 29 - January 1; Open December 24 and January 14, closed the following day)
Admission | General ¥600, Students ¥500, Junior High/High School Students & Seniors (65+) ¥400
Venue | Tokyo Photographic Art Museum
1-13-3 Mita, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Ebisu Garden Place
Tel. 03-3280-0099