Scheduled Exibition Photographs by Shotaro Akiyama -Indulging in Photos-Flowers – 365days
Shotaro Akiyama 'Rose' Nakagawa-machi Bto Hiroshige Museum of Art's possession (c) Shotaro Akiyama Photo Museum
Exhibit Period
June 26 (Fri) to August 2 (Sun), 2009
Exhibit Times
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
(last admissions at 4:30 p.m.)
Organized by
The Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum of Art
Museum closed
June 29 (Mon), July 6 (Mon), 13 (Mon), 21 (Tue), 27 (Mon)
Admission Fee
Adults 500 (450) yen; High School, College Students: 300 (270) yen; Elementary, Junior High School Students: 100 (90) yen * Fees in parentheses are group rates for 20 or more visitors * Free admission for visitors aged over 70 years and preschoolers * Half price for visitors with the physical disability certificate, and half price for one accompanying caregiver
Overview
This past March, we accepted a donation of works by Shotaro Akiyama (1920-2003), centering on his flower photography series “Indulging in Photography - 365 Days of Flowers”, but also including photographs of actresses, and related books. Akiyama started taking photographs when he was 13 years old; by age 26 he had become an independent photographer, and beginning in the 1950s he actively blazed new trails as a Japanese professional photographer, capturing various motifs, including actresses, landscapes, dolls and writers.
Around age 45, Akiyama started his life’s work - taking photos of flowers. He offered the following explanation of ‘indulging in photography’: “Besides flowers, I discovered a comparable fascination with the forms of trees and stones. I took the art informel-style atmosphere, and tried cutting out an abstract work-style from one portion of what was drawn in the muddy moat. In addition, I take fireworks, animals, the beautiful patterns reflected in water and other everyday subjects, and try to make them emanate a different kind of enjoyment and add variety to the printed page.”
This is the first exhibition of Shotaro Akiyama’s work at the Nakagawa-machi Bato Hiroshige Museum of Art. From the series “Indulging in Photography - 365 Days of Flowers,” we have selected photographs taken mainly in June and July.
Museum Talk
Presented by Ueno Masato, the chief curator of Shotaro Akiyama Photo Museum on July 12 (Sun), 2009.
Start at 1:30 p.m.
Payment of museum admission fee is required.