Daidō Moriyama

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Daidō Moriyama (森山大道, Moriyama Daidō^?)^[1] (born October 10, 1938) is a Japanese photographer noted for his images depicting the breakdown of traditional values in post-war Japan.

[edit] Life and career

Born in Osaka, he studied photography under Takeji Iwamiya before moving to Tokyo in 1961 to work as an assistant to Eikoh Hosoe. He produced a collection of photographs, Nippon gekijō shashinchō, which showed the darker sides of urban life and the less-seen parts of cities. In them, he attempted to show how life in certain areas was being left behind the other industrialised parts.

His work was often stark and contrasting within itself. One image could convey an array of senses; all without using color. His work was jarring, yet symbiotic to his own fervent lifestyle.

Among the most famous of Moriyama's works is the 1971 shot of a stray dog (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) and many others featuring everyday objects or landscapes shot from unfamiliar angles, giving them a stark perspective.

Among the artists to have influenced Moriyama are Andy Warhol, William Klein and the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.^{[citation needed]}

An exhibition of his work was held at the Shine Gallery in London between February and April 2004.

Daidō Moriyama's work is permanently on exhibition at Tepper Takayama Fine Arts, Boston,^[2] and was included in the following exhibitions at that gallery:

"Myths and Games", June 5, 2004 - July 30, 2004
"Daido Moriyama: Hikari" September 15, 2000 - October 28, 2000
"Captive Light" June, 2000 - August, 2000

[edit] Notes

^ Earlier publications give "Hiromichi Moriyama" as the romanized form of his name. One example is (Japanese) Shashinka hyakunin: Kao to shashin (『写真家100人：顔と写真』, 100 photographers: Profiles and photographs), a special publication of Camera Mainichi magazine (1973).
^ Website here.