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Art/Photography

Experience the overwhelming “power of photography” at the Yokohama Museum of Art! “Kishin Shinoyama Exhibition Photography Power THE PEOPLE by KISHIN” & “Kishin Shinoyama Artist Talk” Report

圧倒的な“写真の力”を横浜美術館で体感!『篠山紀信展 写真力 THE PEOPLE by KISHIN』&「篠山紀信アーティストトーク」レポート

“Kishin Shinoyama Exhibition Photography Power THE PEOPLE by KISHIN” Report

The subjects of "Kishin Shinoyama Exhibition: The Power of Photography THE PEOPLE by KISHIN" are all people. What's more, ``celebrities that everyone knows'' that transcend age and gender, such as actors, singers, musicians, athletes, dancers, and kabuki actors, come to life with the aura and breath of the times in which they were active. It exists there. The approximately 130 photographs are no longer just photographs. They are "unforgettable memories" that have been shared with each of us through time and eras.

The first thing that strikes you about this exhibition is the size of each work. The portrait of John Lennon and Yoko Ono kissing displayed at the entrance gave me a feeling of nostalgia and grandeur, and when I stepped into the venue, I saw each photo on a large panel. It approaches right in front of the viewer's eyes. The works themselves are ones that Shinoyama has published in magazines and photo books, so many of the photos look familiar, but the feeling of confronting "them" once again in the form of a giant panel is something Shinoyama himself has said. As you can see, it's not just "viewing" but "experiencing" itself. I was overwhelmed by the amount of passion that a single photo conveyed.

Visitors will move through the five rooms (sections) in order, feeling a fluffy and ``extraordinary'' first impression. The experience also creates a strange feeling.

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The first room is the room for ``GOD demonized people''. Here, there are memorable stars whose achievements are still etched in the hearts of many people, such as John Lennon, Yukio Mishima, Shintaro Katsu, Reiko Ohara, and Hibari Misora. The calm appearance of Kinsangin-san and Hibari Misora, the transparent portrait of Natsume Masako, the "tora-san" smile of national movie star Kiyoshi Atsumi, healed my heart, and Yukio Mishima dressed as the martyr St. Sebastian. I am awed by the radical portraits. The dim lighting amplifies the aura unique to a big star.

When you open the black curtains, you will arrive at the second room, which has the theme of ``STAR - Celebrity known to all.'' A total of 49 pairs of STARs are displayed in two corners with a passageway in between. The lighting in this room is also clear. It feels like you've suddenly returned to the real world from the dimly lit "GOD" room.
The STAR-1 room has small panels (but they are big enough!) surrounding the walls on all four sides, from Sadaharu Oh, Masakazu Tamura, and Kazuo Funaki in 1973 to Kusabue in 2016. Approximately 40 years of Japanese entertainment history, including Mitsuko, is condensed. There are also photos that give you a sense of the changing times, such as Takeshi Kitano standing in front of the Kodansha building where the crime took place, like the aftermath of the 1986 Friday attack, and you'll never get tired of looking at them.
In the ``STAR-2'' room across the aisle, visitors will be greeted by a larger panel of seven people, including Ebizo, Daisuke Miura & Riki Takeuchi, Sayuri Yoshinaga, AKB48, Yu Aoi, Mitsu Dan, and others from Shinnosuke Ichikawa's era. In particular, the photo of Momoe Yamaguchi at the height of her popularity lying on a boat by the lake evokes strong memories.

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Among Kishin Shinoyama's portrait collection, the one that most makes you feel the power of the "extraordinary" is the next room, "SPECTACLE: A dream world that transports us to another dimension." The most eye-catching feature is the ``Shinorama'' (coined word: ``Shinoyama'' + ``Panorama''), which spans 9 meters in width, and involves multiple large-format cameras connected together to take photos at the same time or at different times while changing the direction of one camera. These photographs were taken using Kishin Shinoyama's unique method of projecting a fantastical world in a wide space. With the theme of the fairy tale world where many Kumiko Goto exist, and the "holiday" where Mickey, Minnie and their friends gather, Shinoyama himself took the role of the character "Shinoraman" and filmed the inside of Tokyo Disneyland, where there are no humans. All the works in the room are fantastic. The appearance of Kabuki actors lined up at the same time during a play created a different atmosphere, as if one had traveled back in time to the world of actor paintings from the Edo period.

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