Tokyo’s Yaesu, Kyobashi and Nihonbashi neighborhoods are currently going through a top-to-bottom architectural transformation, the mid-1960s and ’70s vibe giving way to 21st century sophistication, and temporary exhibits have popped up in both dowdy, soon-to-be demolished office blocks and the shiny new postindustrial mixed-use buildings that are rising to replace them.
These exhibits are part of the T3 Photo Festival, this year titled “New Japanese Photography: 50 Years On” and running through Oct. 27. This use of old and new spaces fits well with the festival’s commemoration of the landmark “New Japanese Photography” exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1974, juxtaposing images from that era with works by contemporary artists.
During his tenure as a MoMA curator from 1962 to 1991, John Szarkowski, who devised the original show, was renowned for promoting photography to a viewing public for whom fine art generally meant painting and sculpture. The original “New Japanese Photography” exhibition also challenged the dominance of Europe and the United States as centers of modernity and culture. Images chosen by Szarkowski with the help of Shoji Yamagishi, then editor of the Japanese photo magazine Camera Mainichi, have now become iconic in the history of photography.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.