With more than 250 works and publications on display, Instituto Moreira Salles da Avenida Paulista (IMS Paulista) opens this Saturday (9) the first major retrospective of Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama in Latin America. He is one of the leading names in contemporary photography worldwide and the show confirms his legacy for the history of photography.
The exhibition presents several phases of the photographer’s trajectory, marked by visual experimentation, the registration of cities and reflection on the role of photography. It ranges from the photographer’s interest in experimental theater and its documentation of cities to the challenging works of the 1970s. The curator is Thyago Nogueira.
Beautiful woman, Tokyo, 2017. ©Daido Moriyama/Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation. – Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation.
Daido Moriyama (1938) began shooting for mass-circulation newspapers and magazines in 1961 in Tokyo, and became known for high-contrast, grainy, black-and-white photos taken with small cameras.
The retrospective occupies two floors of the IMS Paulista. In addition to the framed photographs, the show features magazines and books. On the first floor are the works made in the 60s and 70s. Among the highlights of this floor is the book Adeus, Fotografia (1972), a collection of images made from erased, scratched and unused negatives, which turns 50 in 2022.
On the second floor, the exhibition presents works from the 1980s. Among the works are the famous series Luz e Sombra and Memórias de um Cão, published between 1982 and 1983. “The two series open the paths that determine all of Moriyama’s production. On the one hand, the enchantment with the simple and palpable beauty of the world, found in daily walks. On the other hand, the understanding that his photography was born from the encounter between the landscapes of memory and the scenes of the city, in an incessant search, celebrated by the photographic camera”, said the curator of the exhibition, in a publicity text. On this floor it will also be possible to see photos taken by him on a trip to the capital of São Paulo, in 2007.
From projections, it will still be possible to appreciate the complete archive of Record magazine, his personal diary, which began in 1972 and reaches its 50th edition in 2022.
Hyogo, 1971. From the series A Hunter. ©Daido Moriyama/Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation. – Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation
The show was conceived in partnership with the Daido Moriyama Photo Foundation. It has the support of the Japan Foundation and the consultancy of Japanese researchers Yutaka Kambayashi, Satoshi Machiguchi and Kazuya Kimura, among others.
Entrance to IMS Paulista is free, but proof of vaccination is required. The exhibition will be on view until August 14th. More information can be obtained at site from the institute.
