Daido Moriyama, 'Kyoku / Erotica'

Preview with the artist in attendance
Tuesday, September 4, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Vernissage
Friday, September 14, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
With a talk by Ferdinand Brueggemann at 6:30 p.m.
'Daido Moriyama – Memory of a Dog'

Exhibition
September 15 – December 14, 2007
Tuesday – Friday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and by arrangement

Finissage
Friday, January 25, 2008, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

'Kyoku / Erotica' is Galerie Priska Pasquer’s second exhibition to be devoted exclusively to the work of Japanese artist Daido Moriyama. The exhibition will feature photographs from the series entitled 'Kyoku / Erotica', which was published in book form in 2007.

The 'Kyoku / Erotica' series brings together photographs from cities such as Tokyo, New York, Shanghai, Bangkok, Cologne, Buenos Aires and Sydney.
For Daido Moriyama, this is the continuation of a photographic career that began in the 1960s on the streets of Tokyo:
''Starting with Yokosuka, my earliest work, I have consistently made the external environment – in the cities, on the streets – my territory. The infinite number of cities, the people in them, the shop windows, the signs – all of this comes together in a perfect, harmonious whole that forms a whirlpool and floods the streets''. (Daido Moriyama)

The title of the exhibition – 'Kyoku / Erotica' – reflects Daido Moriyama’s ambivalent perception of the world. The word “Kyoku” can be translated as “danger zone”. For Daido Moriyama, the world is both a danger zone and a minefield of sexual tension, a mixture of danger and allure.

The images in this series interact to form a veritable kaleidoscope of the world as seen by a flâneur or a stray dog – the latter having been chosen by Moriyama as his alter ego in his earlier work. From this perspective, there are no special or outstanding places – all scenes are of equal importance. This perception is emphasized by Daido Moriyama through his raw, grainy, high-contrast style; these are photographs that show everyday scenarios in an ambivalent light – dangerous and erotic.

Daido Moriyama, born in Osaka in 1938, is one of the most important Japanese artists since 1945. His work is instrumental in establishing Japanese photography as one of the most creative schools in the history of art. Particularly in the “Provoke Era” in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Moriyama made a key contribution to the development of photography and continues to have a great influence on young Japanese photographers to this day.
Daido Moriyama has published many books of photographs. Publications such as “Farewell Photography” and “Japan: A Photo Theater”, are among the most important works of their kind.

The “Kyoko / Erotica” series was published as a photo book in Japan in 2007 and is available at Schaden.com.

Further information about events related to Daido Moriyama

Exhibitions
Following the preview at Galerie Priska Pasquer
Opening of the exhibition:
'Daido Moriyama – Retrospective since 1965'
Photographic collection / SK Stiftung Kultur
Im Mediapark 7, 50670 Cologne, Germany
September 4, 7 p.m.
Exhibition: September 5 – December 9, 2007

Exhibition involving Daido Moriyama:
'A Look at the Present. Japanese Photography since 1970'
Japanisches Kultur Institut (Nihon Bunka Kaikan)
Universitätsstr. 98, 50674 Cologne, Germany
Opening: Friday, September 7, 7:00 p.m.
With an introduction by Ferdinand Brüggemann
Exhibition: September 7 – November 16, 2007

Presentations
Prof. Minoru Shimizu, art historian, Kyoto:
'Torn between the Irrecoverable and the Repeatable. The Photography of Daido Moriyama'
September 6, 7 p.m.
Photographic collection / SK Stiftung Kultur

Ferdinand Brueggemann, photography historian, Cologne
'Daido Moriyama and the Provoke Era'
October 23, 7 p.m.
Photographic collection / SK Stiftung Kultur

Film program
Between September 6 and October 29, 2007, highlights of Japanese film history will be shown, giving an insight into the life and work of Daido Moriyama and the historic surroundings of his works.
Japanisches Kultur Institut (Nihon Bunka Kaikan)
Universitätsstr. 98, 50674 Cologne, Germany