In the 1960s and early 1970s, Japan was shaken by massive, sometimes violent waves of protests. The key event was the ratification of the Security Treaty between Japan and the United States (ANPO) in 1960. Japan’s role as a military base for the Vietnam War, the construction of Narita Airport in Sanrizuka and the neoliberal activities of big concerns also led to protests.
Published in different ways by artist, photographers, student associations, trade unions and professional photojournalists, the protest publications were aimed at spreading information and mobilizing people. They were mostly quickly edited, often self-funded by political groups or individuals, and were circulated through small, left-wing bookstores or social movement networks.
The strategies of subversive self-representation were characterised by an innovative design: combinations of texts and images not seen before, quasi-cinematic sequences, dynamic croppings, and the interplay between the technically “flawed” images and the sophisticated layouts.
Although the members of Provoke, with the exception of Moriyama, were politically active, they were of the view that the possibilities of protest photography had been exhausted and that it could not bring about political change. The most striking feature is the protest photographers’ abstract and blurry aesthetic resulting from extreme working conditions.
December 31, 1968. Alcohol and tobacco are getting more expensive. The tuition fee for universities is rising. The cost of public transportation is also rising. Everything is getting more expensive. The only thing going down is trust in the Japanese government and America, bogged down in Vietnam. Two more American soldiers have deserted. It is bitterly cold today. – Shōmei Tōmatsu
Provoke, Entre contestation et performance
La photographie au japon 1960-1975
Through December 11, 2016
Le Bal
6 Impasse de la Défense
75018 Paris
France
http://www.le-bal.fr/
