Shōmei Tōmatsu
1930–2012 · Japan
Reading the postwar era in traces of the present.
The story
Shōmei Tōmatsu developed a body of work in Japan attentive to the consequences of war, social change and the American presence. He photographed Nagasaki, cities and Okinawa without restricting himself to official events. A marked object, a face or a street scene can carry a collective history. His research contributed to the renewal of Japanese photography and to a reading of the traces left by the postwar period.
Understanding the work
Look for material clues rather than an immediately visible event. Details allow an observation of the present to coexist with historical wounds that the literal content of a photograph cannot fully show.
Key works and series
Nagasaki; Chewing Gum and Chocolate; photographs of Okinawa.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
10 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
