This exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum, entitled Japan’s Modern Divide: The Photographs Of Hiroshi Hamaya and Kansuke Yamamoto, presents the work of these two photographers whose careers spanned much of the twentieth century, or the Showa Era (1926–1989) as it is known in Japan.
Hiroshi Hamaya (1915–1999) and Kansuke Yamamoto (1914–1987) began
as teenagers to experiment with various formal approaches and techniques in photography. As their work matured, however, they took very different paths. Through the display of works from Japanese as well as U.S. collections, the exhibition examines two important strains in Japanese photography: the documentary investigation of regional traditions and social issues, represented in the work of Hamaya; and the avant-garde movement that developed in the context of Western surrealism and advanced through the work of Yamamoto. These two trends not only reflect significant, though rarely shown, activity in the history of Japanese photography but also reveal the complexity of modern life in that nation since the Meiji Restoration.
Japan’s Modern Divide: The Photographs Of Hiroshi Hamaya and Kansuke Yamamoto
Through August 25, 2013
J. Paul Getty Museum
1200 Getty Center Drive
CA 90049 Los Angeles
T. 310 440- 7300
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Friday – 10-5:30pm,
Saturday – 10-9pm,
Sunday – 10-5:30pm
