Toshio Shibata "Landscape"

This is a great little exhibition. For those scared of people, retrospectives, art museums, or those with not much time and/or money, it offers an interesting alternative to the Toshio Shibata retrospective that is currently on show at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.

Inward looking, meditative landscapes of large, man-made structures - it's fantastic to be able to see them in a more intimate setting with no distractions. You can get up close and see the beauty of the 8X10 film format in the details it is able to offer, or just stand back an enjoy the overall impression conveyed by the images. Shibata's printing skills are also to be applauded, as he is a master at bringing out the varying texturesof his landscapes with just the right amount of contrast and exposure. Oh, and if you have the money ($18,000USD+) you can buy whatever is on display.

Highly recommended.

Venue: Gallery Art Unlimited
Schedule: From 2008-12-19 To 2009-01-31
Closed December 28th - January 7th
Address: 1-26-4-3F Minamiaoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062
Phone: 03-6805-5280 Fax: 03-6805-5281

"Dream Museum - Architectural Masterpiece of Japan" Exhibition

Size does matter. Walking into the exhibition and seeing the Youmeimon at Nikko stretched over a whole wall, you can't help being impressed. While I'm not much of a pixel peeper myself, I appreciate the fact that this kind of sharpness at such a size requires appropriate equipment and the knowledge to operate it effectively.

But while the exhibition is to be commended on a technical level, there's something lacking artistically. What distinguishes competent architectural photography from brilliant architectural photography, is an intelligent awareness of the range of natural/artificial light available and how it will impact on conveying the atmosphere of the space to the viewer; an warm afternoon glow peeping into a room to bring out the gold-plated reliefs, the diffusion of grey sky to expose the austerity of a dark temple interior. While this kind of awareness is present in some of the photographs, it's clearly lacking in others - for instance, the unattractive haze of a glaring sky in the Itsukushima photos.

I'm guessing that time constraints in the shooting process would have something to do with the unevenness of the works selected, but this is where filters and darkroom fiddling should step in. Definitely an exhibition worth seeing for those interested in Architecture, not necessarily one for those interested in Architectural photography.

Venue: Fujifilm Square
Schedule: From 2008-12-23 To 2009-01-28
Exhibition Hours: 10:00-19:00, Closed 12/27 (Sat)-1/4(Sun)
Address: West 1F & 2F, Tokyo Midtown, 9-7-3 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052
Phone: 03-6271-3350