Exhibition/event has ended.
Kazuo Sumida "Tosa Late Night Diary — Utsusemi"
The Museum of Art, Kochi
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Artists
Kazuo Sumida
Volume 3 in the “Artist Focus” series is an exhibition of works by Kazuo Sumida, a photographer based in Nankoku, Kochi.
Due to his difficulties with personal relations from an early age, Sumida spent most of his distressful adolescence shutting himself up in his room. His encounter with photography as a means of connecting to the outside world came around the age of 20 when he was given a camera by his brother. The camera has been his guide ever since, while Sumida has continued to expand his scope of expression and field of activity.
This exhibition focuses on three series of photographs taken in Kochi, where Sumida has been based consistently, using infrared film that captures light invisible to the naked eye. Featured here are “Night of the Full Moon,” one of Sumida’s earliest series framing parks and forests in the darkness of night as mental landscapes; “Tosa Late Night Diary,” comprising photos taken in the 1980s at amusement quarters including a gay bar where Sumida’s uncle used to work; and finally, “Tosa Late Night Diary 2,” the latest series for which the photographer, three decades later, pointed his camera once again at sceneries of Kochi during the pandemic. Together the works on display illustrate the uniquely lyrical quality of Kazuo Sumida’s photographic work.
“Utsusemi,” the title of this exhibition, literally means “this world” or “people in this life.” The featured black-and-white photographs are the results of Sumida’s endeavors to project his own feelings of weakness and loneliness onto his subjects and capture at once the profound darkness of the night, and the intense, almost dazzling light that those inhabiting it radiate. We hope that these works by Kazuo Sumida, who considers shooting and darkroom work as a “therapy” for himself, will inspire viewers to quietly reflect on themselves and develop a real sense of living individually in this world and in this life.
*Artist Focus is an exhibition series introducing artists from or related to Kochi, recommended by the museum’s curators regardless of genre or age.
*Some of the displays at this exhibition contain sexually explicit depictions.
Venue: Exhibition Room 4 (1F)
[Related Events]
1. Talk Session with the Artist
Date: November 3, 11:00-12:00
Venue: Exhibition Room 4 (1F)
Admission: Free (No reservation required.)
*To commemorate the anniversary of the museum’s opening, general admission is free on November 3.
2. Talk Session with Guest
Date: December 10, 14:00-15:30
Guests: Kotaro Iizawa (Photo critic), Kazuo Sumida
Venue: Museum Hall
Admission: Free (Reservation required.)
3. Lecture "From LGBT to Queer and SOGIE"
Date: December 25, 14:00-15:30
Panelists: Social Ally Conatsu Hut [Kimiko Nagasawa (Professor at University of Kochi), Marina Ito (Authorized psychologist), Reo Hamaguchi]
Venue: Lecture Room (1F)
Admission: Free (Reservation required.)
4. Cross Talk
Date: January 7, 14:00-15:30
Panelists: Kazuo Sumida, Mei Asakura (Curator, The Museum of Art, Kochi)
Venue: Lecture Room (1F)
Admission: Free (Reservation required.)
Due to his difficulties with personal relations from an early age, Sumida spent most of his distressful adolescence shutting himself up in his room. His encounter with photography as a means of connecting to the outside world came around the age of 20 when he was given a camera by his brother. The camera has been his guide ever since, while Sumida has continued to expand his scope of expression and field of activity.
This exhibition focuses on three series of photographs taken in Kochi, where Sumida has been based consistently, using infrared film that captures light invisible to the naked eye. Featured here are “Night of the Full Moon,” one of Sumida’s earliest series framing parks and forests in the darkness of night as mental landscapes; “Tosa Late Night Diary,” comprising photos taken in the 1980s at amusement quarters including a gay bar where Sumida’s uncle used to work; and finally, “Tosa Late Night Diary 2,” the latest series for which the photographer, three decades later, pointed his camera once again at sceneries of Kochi during the pandemic. Together the works on display illustrate the uniquely lyrical quality of Kazuo Sumida’s photographic work.
“Utsusemi,” the title of this exhibition, literally means “this world” or “people in this life.” The featured black-and-white photographs are the results of Sumida’s endeavors to project his own feelings of weakness and loneliness onto his subjects and capture at once the profound darkness of the night, and the intense, almost dazzling light that those inhabiting it radiate. We hope that these works by Kazuo Sumida, who considers shooting and darkroom work as a “therapy” for himself, will inspire viewers to quietly reflect on themselves and develop a real sense of living individually in this world and in this life.
*Artist Focus is an exhibition series introducing artists from or related to Kochi, recommended by the museum’s curators regardless of genre or age.
*Some of the displays at this exhibition contain sexually explicit depictions.
Venue: Exhibition Room 4 (1F)
[Related Events]
1. Talk Session with the Artist
Date: November 3, 11:00-12:00
Venue: Exhibition Room 4 (1F)
Admission: Free (No reservation required.)
*To commemorate the anniversary of the museum’s opening, general admission is free on November 3.
2. Talk Session with Guest
Date: December 10, 14:00-15:30
Guests: Kotaro Iizawa (Photo critic), Kazuo Sumida
Venue: Museum Hall
Admission: Free (Reservation required.)
3. Lecture "From LGBT to Queer and SOGIE"
Date: December 25, 14:00-15:30
Panelists: Social Ally Conatsu Hut [Kimiko Nagasawa (Professor at University of Kochi), Marina Ito (Authorized psychologist), Reo Hamaguchi]
Venue: Lecture Room (1F)
Admission: Free (Reservation required.)
4. Cross Talk
Date: January 7, 14:00-15:30
Panelists: Kazuo Sumida, Mei Asakura (Curator, The Museum of Art, Kochi)
Venue: Lecture Room (1F)
Admission: Free (Reservation required.)
Schedule | Oct 29 (Sat) 2022-Jan 9 (Mon) 2023 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Adults ¥370, University Students ¥260, High School Students and Under, Persons with Disability Certificates + 1 Companion, Kochi Prefectural/Municipal Longevity Notebook Holders free, Free on November 3. | ||||
| Website | https://moak.jp/event/exhibitions/artistfocus_03.html | ||||
| Venue | The Museum of Art, Kochi https://moak.jp/en/ | ||||
| Location | 353-2 Takasu, Kochi-shi, Kochi 781-8123 | ||||
| Access | 9 minute walk from Kenritsu Bijutsukan-dori Station on the Tosaden Gomen line, 10 minutes by taxi from the South exit of Kochi Station on the JR Dosan line. | ||||
| Phone | 088-866-8000 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it      |
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