COLOR. Daido Moriyama.

Published in April 2012. Limited edition of 200.

[Regular edition of COLOR (signed) is available through ICP store]

A special photobook experience? In November 2011, Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama had a Printing Show-TKY at the Aperture Gallery in New York, a recreation of his 1974 performance by the same name. On 3 May 2012 a smaller scale, yet very significant event, took place at the International Center of Photography. A special edition of Moriyama’s book, COLOR, was prepared exclusively for the occasion to mark Moriyama’s acceptance of the ICP’s 2012 Infinity Award for Lifetime Achievement. Indeed, “his work occupies a unique space between the objective and the subjective, the illusory and the real”.

The line to the event was long: Daido Moriyama is a true legend in the world of photography and his work is finally receiving well-deserved recognition by the broader audience. The event, curated by Ivan Vartyanian of Goliga, was well organized yet still reminded a ritual. Once you made the payment, you had to select a c-print for the book cover: a choice of 20 images, all displayed on a long table. Not an easy choice! When the decision was made, you received a coded ticket for your book (in this case “hands”). Then Ivan, wearing blue gloves, fixed the print into die cuts on a silver cover and stamped the book’s title: COLOR. Daido Moriyama signed. Finally, a virtually invisible assistant packaged the book.

(photo credit Jeff Gutterman)

COLOR. It is heavier than you would have imagined, the smell of ink is magical, and the book is printed on a thick paper. The book has no text elements (unless you count the title). The title COLOR, short and simple, says a lot about the book itself. Moriyama is well known for his black and white photographs but COLOR brings out a different dimension of his work. What a beautiful and distinct visual language and image framing! The pictures were shot over the past several years in Tokyo and have never been published before. The book takes you on a journey through the streets of Tokyo with its neon billboards, busy street markets, and surreal shop windows. Splashes of colors reveal the diverse elements of everyday life.

Images and the book design create a dynamic experience of Tokyo: flashing lights, constant motion and ever-changing passersby whose uniqueness is captured by Moriyama’s genius. It is a very special and truly beautiful book, but perhaps not for everyone, not for every taste. It appears simple yet within its simplicity hides infinite complexity. Ultimately, COLOR reflects Moriyama’s aesthetic and tradition but at the same time it takes the viewer a little bit further…

More
Near Equal Moriyama Daido (Full-length documentary on Daido Moriyama)
Video (in Japanese)
Readymade Distortion (exhibit review by Dan Abbe)
The Daido Moriyama Photobook Collection at the ICP Library
New York: Daido Moriyama and William Klein
Japanese Provoke Era Reprints and Facsimiles in the ICP Library