There’s not a great deal known about Chinese photographer Lu Guang in the West. A few facts gleaned from a couple of interviews, a sketchy bio saying where and when he went to school, a couple of passing references to groups who’ve hired him, a … Keep readingLu Guang
We are the music-makers,We are the dreamers of dreams,Wandering by lone sea-breakers,And sitting by desolate streams— A few years ago I saw the photograph below. I don’t recall now where I saw it, and there was no attribution given. I had no idea who took … Keep readingAsako Narahashi
We rarely acknowledge the role luck plays in an artist’s career. We’re all aware of it, of course, but we generally like to pretend it all comes down to talent (or, for those artists whose work we dislike, a venal agent and a lot of … Keep readingMiwa Yanagi
Who knows where art comes from? Surely, it must be influenced—if not actually shaped—by the artist’s life experience. In Japan, there was a generation of artists born before the Second World War, who grew up during that war, and who began to make art in … Keep readingEikoh Hosoe
NUDES NUDES NUDES It’s got to be one of the most common visual tropes used by photography students in art schools: the attractive, thin, young woman posing nude in a rundown, dilapidated setting. An abandoned house, a derelict factory, a decaying former institutional structure such … Keep readingMiru Kim
In writing these salons I’ve noticed a commonality between many of the photographers featured. Time and again there seems to be a moment, an incident, a coincidence that sparks some sort of transformational shift in the person’s view of the world. Something happens that triggers … Keep readingHiroh Kikai
Masahisa Fukase is part of that strange generation of Japanese artists born before the Second World War and who came to maturity after their nation was defeated and devastated. They are, in a distinctly Japanese way, a lost generation. Fukase was born on Hokkaido, Japan’s … Keep readingMasahisa Fukase
Don Hong-Oai was born in 1929 in the city of Guangzhou in the Guangdong Province of China. He is often described as a Chinese artist, but not because of where he was born. He left China at the age of seven, after the sudden death … Keep readingDon Hong-Oai
In 1945, detective novelist Raymond Chandler wrote an essay about the ‘new detective story.’ The stories were considered new because they introduced a new type of protagonist: the hard-boiled detective. In part, Chandler wrote: “…down these mean streets a man must go who is not … Keep readingDaido Moriyama
In 1979 Joseph Tseng was an under-employed 29 year old freelance magazine photographer living with his sister, Muna, in New York City. On a visit to the city, his parents invited Tseng and his sister to dinner at an upscale tourist-oriented restaurant. The restaurant had … Keep readingTseng Kwong Chi