ICP Co-Hosts Inaugural “Shashin: Photography From Japan” Festival

Produced by the Tokyo-based Council for Photography from Japan (CPJ) and co-hosted by the International Center of Photography (ICP) and the New York Public Library (NYPL), the 15-day Shashin Festival presents installations, performances, lectures, films, and other events showcasing artists rarely seen outside Japan.
News
ICP
Mar 27, 2015
Produced by the Tokyo-based Council for Photography from Japan (CPJ) and co-hosted by the International Center of Photography (ICP) and the New York Public Library (NYPL), the 15-day Shashin Festival presents installations, performances, lectures, films, and other events showcasing artists rarely seen outside Japan.

Produced by the Tokyo-based Council for Photography from Japan (CPJ) and co-hosted by the International Center of Photography (ICP) and the New York Public Library (NYPL), the 15-day Shashin Festival presents installations, performances, lectures, films, and other events showcasing artists rarely seen outside Japan.  

What is Shashin?

Shashin is the Japanese word for photograph. Festival Director Ivan Vartanian explains:

“Japanese photography has a rich and diverse history. The Shashin Festival NYC provides a robust introduction to its traditions, its stars, and its emerging artists. Photography from Japan is no single style, content, or theme and defies easy categorization. But for all the publications, exhibitions, and legions of photographers producing work in Japan, only a very small morsel of this tantalizing work makes it to the western world. The Shashin Festival will provide a lightning rod of attention to the wide spectrum of Japanese photography and give context for audiences to appreciate, engage, and explore a world beyond the ordinary.”

The Festival features a Zine Fest and pop-up shop organized by ICP Librarian Matthew Carson and faculty member Russet Lederman, who co-founded 10x10 Photobooks. Carson and Lederman say: “The Zine Fest during Shashin is an outgrowth of 10x10’s ongoing commitment to bring together diverse photobook communities. We invite visitors to experience the multitude of new Japanese zines and meet many of their creators.”

Events

The Shashin Festival will showcase and explore this provocative, experimental genre through more than a dozen events, most free to the public:

  • 10x10’s Shashin Zine Fest NYC, at Resobox in Long Island City, Saturday, April 18 through Sunday, April 26, features a broad selection of recent Japanese Zines.
  • An invitation-only party at the Aperture Foundation, Saturday, April 25 celebrating the launch of “Tokyo,” the May 2015 edition of Aperture Magazine.
  • A 2-day Shashin Symposium brings together the world’s leading scholars and curators of Japanese photography from major art institutions for a series of presentations and panel discussions at the New York Public Library, Friday April 24 and Saturday, April 25.
  • bookshop M, a Japanese bookseller and publisher of high-quality Photobooks from Japan will host a pop-up shop, Saturday, April 26, at the International Center of Photography School.
  • A screening of two documentaries about the enigmatic, legendary photographer Takuma Nakahira. Films by Takashi Homma and Masashi Kohara at the School of Visual Arts, Monday, April 27.
  • Shashin Festival Director Ivan Vartanian will give a slide-show presentation hosted by the Harvard Business School of New York, Tuesday, April 28, introducing many of the young, dynamic artists in contemporary Japanese photography. Two of these young photographers, Daisuke Yokota and Mayumi Hosokura will join the discussion in person.
  • A performance-based, outdoor event Saturday, May 2 with emerging artist/photographer Daisuke Yokota will include the application of acid to his photographs. Site: TBA
  • Also Saturday, May 2, Takashi Homma, renowned for his portraits of urban Tokyo, will construct a giant camera obscura that participants may enter. Prints made inside the camera obscura will be available for sale.

In addition to the public program of events, the festival includes exhibitions at many of New York City’s leading galleries dedicated to photography, including: Laurence Miller Gallery, Howard Greenberg Gallery, and Pace/MacGill Gallery, among others. For the full list of participating exhibiting galleries, installations, performances, and other events, visit: http://www.photographyfromjapan.com