OPENING RECEPTION: “Daido Moriyama”

From November 9 to December 30, 2006, Stephen Cohen Gallery will exhibit the black-and-white photographs of Daido Moriyama, one of Japan’s foremost photographers. Born in Osaka, and raised during Japan’s post-World War II “westernization,” Moriyama’s work is heavily influenced by this collision of worlds. An opening reception for the artist will take place November 16, 7-9 pm.

Born outside of Osaka in 1938, Daido Moriyama lived through the changes that engulfed Japan in the decades following World War II. Traditional Japanese life and culture was forced into an existential abyss, altered permanently by the defeat it had suffered. This dynamic became one of the central themes of his work.

Taking inspiration from Japanese photographers Eikoh Hosoe and Shomei Tomatsu, and from the west, William Klein, Robert Frank and Weegee, his style of street photography was shot almost on the run. Grainy, tilted, dynamic, expressionistic, alienated… more like the poetry of the Beat Generation than any haiku ever written.

You can access the Daido Moriyama page by clicking “Next Exhibit” on the Stephen Cohen Gallery front page.

The work of Keizo Kitajima, a former student of Moriyama’s, will also be displayed. Just as his mentor was inspired by the cultural evolution of the 60’s and 70’s, Kitajima photographed the changing cultural landscape of New York City in the 1980’s.

The Stephen Cohen Gallery is located at 7358 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 6 pm, and by appointment.