1970s Japanese lens in monochrome, colour

CHENNAI: The Consulate General of Japan in Chennai, the Japan Foundation, and ABK-AOTS Dosokai, TN Centre together organised an exhibition — ‘Photographic Images and Matter: Japanese Prints of the 1970s’, commemorating the 2017 Japan-India friendly exchanges in the city. The exhibition, which is on till November 3, was inaugurated by Hiroko Taniguchi, Acting Consul General of Japan at Chennai. “It is difficult to bring such a large scale exhibition to one place, without proper preparation. This is the first time we are bringing this to Chennai. These are prints from the 1970s and that period was very important not just for economic growth but also for the art movement. Today I feel so proud to be seeing and remembering these works and artists,” said Taniguchi.

Works of 14 different artists were displayed at the exhibition. They are regarded as pioneers in the print movement in the world of Japanese contemporary art. The art in the gallery was organised into two sections. One focuses on  ‘The Age of Photographic Images’ —  which had works of artist such as Tetsuya Noda and Kousuke Kimura. They used images in the print medium, which were printed using methds like silk-screening and  photoengraving. The other section has  ‘Images of Autonomous Matter’ — which showcased works of artists Jiro Takamatsu, Katsura Yoshida and Lee Ufan, who were part of the art movement. 

Speaking at the occasion, MR Ranganathan, chairman, ABK-AOTS Dosokai, TN Centre, highlighted the beauty of the Japanese language. “Learning Japanese is the key to work well in Japan. The country needs a lot of young people from here as well.” 

KanaeNakaya, assistant Japanese language advisor, The Japan Foundation, earned a lot of applause from the crowd with her speech in Tamil. G Chandramohan, president, ABK-AOTS Dosokai; Sriram Chellappa, VP, ABK-AOTS Dosokai; Kobudo AS Krishnamurthy, president of South Asia, Ryukyu Kobudo Shimbu Kan and CS Rajagopal, president, TN Ju-Jitsu Association, were also present during the inauguration.