Mr. Toshimitsu Takahashi is a designer/photographer and he had taken some sample photos for this website. His friend, Mr. Naoki Mizuno, is also a photographer. I heard news that they will hold a photo exhibition together in Kanazawa and all the photos were taken with Leica. I decided to go to Kanazawa to see this exhibition, but because of the heavy snow, many trains and flights were cancelled. My flight was forced to circle over Komatsu airport, but finally I managed to make it just before the closing time.
While Mr. Takahashi is a designer/art director who uses cameras in his creative process, Mr. Mizuno is a pure photographer. So, I was curious about how this combination works for an exhibition. Also, I heard some of their prints were enlarged to B0 size. I was excited because I rarely see such enlargements of pictures shot with digital Leica cameras.
The location is Kanazawa Citizen's Art Center, which is a renovated cotton-mill. It's mostly used for a variety of events, but it's uncommon to hold a photo exhibition. The extensive space is hard to imagine in the galleries in Tokyo, yet Mr. Takahashi designed the exhibition meticulously to every corner in collaboration with Mr. Mizuno. I see. Now, I know why I felt it was a work of a designer/art director.
Mr. Takahashi in front and Mr. Mizuno behind. At first, I wondered how they manage to exhibit the B0 prints. But, when I saw the size of the exhibition space with my own eyes, I was convinced. With this size of space, it has to be B0 (although it still seemed difficult to do an exhibition in this type of space).
As expected, large prints were so powerful. Mr. Takahashi took all his shots with the M9 and picture quality was excellent: they were free from jagged lines unlike those digital cameras in the early years. I guess they would become loose if they were shot with 35mm films. Mr. Mizuno took his shots with the Leica X1 whose number of pixels is smaller. Yet, the prints were wonderful even on the B0 size. The decline of films makes me sad, but it can't be helped when the digital prints outperforms films. As far as I could see, I think they bear further enlargement and I'd like to check the limitation when I can visualize pixels (i.e. grains in films).
I was able to borrow some of their photos, so I took a liberty of selecting four photos (2 photos from each photographer) and arranged to see what happens. Different photographers shot in different places. The photos were exhibited in the vague theme "SNAPS." Generally, there're two types of joint photo exhibitions. The first one has a common theme like theirs, and the second one has each theme side by side in the same gallery. But, they both are difficult to manage because the two personalities must be integrated in order to have a convincing quality as one exhibition. And, sometimes this difficulty causes awkward and unconvincing exhibition. So, in this sense, it's easier to do a personal exhibition. But, I felt this exhibition was a role model for a joint exhibition because of the high quality even though they were friends.
What does SNAP mean? I can't answer clearly because everyone has different interpretations and approaches. Ultimately, even studio photos or commemorative photos can be SNAPs. Here, I define it as "confronting the scene" and I'd like to discuss my impression on this exhibition.
Mr. Takahashi took SNAPS in Italy. He has an Italian car and an Italian road bike. He had been feeling attached to Italy before this first visit. Usually, the more attached s/he feels about something, the less focused s/he becomes. However, what he captured was so Italian. He framed "Italian lines" so clearly (or, too clearly) and they were drawn to every corner in his frame. Mr. Takahashi may disagree, but I think a designer is an introducer to lead the viewers to a new world. Even though he held a camera, this personality never disappears and it doesn't even need to disappear. His pictures did take me to Italy.
Mr. Mizuno, on the other hand, took SNAPS in Kenya. Htye bring a virtual reality of the wild animals standing still in the vast savanna and "the lives" dominated by the great nature. Interestingly, I felt no complexity of his process from being in the scene to having intention to shoot. Of course, they are framed with great care because that's what a professional photographer always do. However, his pictures surpass such standard. They are so powerful that I can imagine the land far across the sea. Having saw the photos by the two photographers, I also wondered what would happen if they switch the subjects.
Mr. Takahashi became obsessed with rangefinder cameras since the EPSON R-D1. In Kanazawa, it's difficult to find friends who use such cameras and to find good lenses. So, the two photographers have been exchanging information as friends. However, as artists, they have each philosophy and stance. It would easier to do a joint exhibition with a stranger because it's easier to be frank, or it may be harder to be frank with a friend.
However, it's the friendship that makes them know each other better. By standing at the same position as artists, they should be able to re-recognize each personality and stance, and it's a great thing. In a personal exhibition, the photographer can be more passive. Of course, there's something s/he can notice being surrounded by their photos. But, in a joint exhibition, they're surrounded by different context and it's very interesting. By the way, right now, we're working for establishing a photo gallery at Yodobashi Camera because I want this exhibition SNAPS to be held in this gallery.
