I finally got around to checking out the Shoji Ueda exhibition at the Fujifilm Photo Museum in Roppongi.
A lifelong Pursuit of Modernism − the Photographic World of Shoji Ueda is a grand title for the modestly presented exhibition – almost an afterthought in a space that houses Fujifilm’s entire catalogue of products, which is in itself a fascinating exhibition – but it’s definitely worth a look.
Ueda’s work is categorised as modernist and it’s easy when first looking at it to draw comparisons with the works of de Chirico, Magritte and Dali and to see similarities with the compositions of filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni. The monochrome works on display show figures and objects artfully and surreally arranged in landscapes, primarily the expansive sand dunes of Tottori prefecture, Ueda’s birthplace and the focus of much of his photographic work.
Ueda was born in 1913 and died in 2000. His passion for photography started early and his work began to receive recognition while he was still young. (artist biography)
The Photo History Museum, in which Ueda’s works hang, is a photographer’s delight. From zoetrope and stereoscope to the latest Fujifilm X series cameras and everything Fujifilm in between, including a historical archive of the company’s famous films, the display crystallizes the history of photography. The adjoining Fujifilm Photo Salon, by contrast, has a diverse range of contemporary photographic visions on display.
A lifelong Pursuit of Modernism − the Photographic World of Shoji Ueda is on at Fujifilm Square until August 31.
