Daidō Moriyama

Daidō Moriyama, born on October tenth, nineteen thirty-eight, is a renowned Japanese photographer celebrated for his striking black-and-white street photography. His work is closely associated with the avant-garde photography magazine Provoke, which has significantly influenced contemporary photography.

Moriyama's journey began as an assistant to Eikoh Hosoe, a pivotal figure in the avant-garde photo cooperative Vivo. He gained recognition with his first photobook, Japan: A Photo Theater, published in nineteen sixty-eight. His early work from the 1960s is characterized by a raw and unfiltered portrayal of urban life in postwar Japan, utilizing sharply tilted angles, grained textures, and harsh contrasts to convey the complexities of human experience.

In nineteen sixty-nine, Moriyama pushed the boundaries of photography with his Accident series, which was serialized in Asahi Camera. This innovative project showcased his camera as a tool for reproducing existing media images, further demonstrating his experimental approach. His 1972 photobook, Farewell Photography, accompanied by an interview with fellow Provoke photographer Takuma Nakahira, marked a radical attempt to deconstruct the medium itself.

Prolific in his craft, Moriyama has produced over one hundred fifty photobooks since nineteen sixty-eight, a testament to his dedication to the art form. His work has been recognized through numerous solo exhibitions, including a notable two-person exhibition with William Klein at Tate Modern in 2012-2013. Throughout his illustrious career, he has received prestigious accolades, such as the Hasselblad Award in two thousand nineteen and the International Center of Photography Infinity Award in two thousand twelve.