上田義彦『Māter』       Book Design：葛西薫 中本陽子       発行：赤々舎   Size： H290mm × W227mm   Page：64 pages   Binding：Softcover   Published in September 2022   ISBN：978-4-86541-150-8	¥ 4,000＋tax  国内送料無料！ 【国内／Domestic Shipping】  お支払い方法は、銀行振込、郵便振替、 クレジットカード支払い、PayPal、PayPay よりお選び頂けます。 【海外／International Shipping】 ＊ Please choose your area from the two below    　　　 Book + Asia shipping ¥5,900 JPY Book + World shipping ¥7,150 JPY

Māter 

Yoshihiko Ueda

"In Latin, mater means mother/source, Mäter derives from the Indo-European root word mehter (mother), and has the same etymology as the English word mother. The original meaning of the Latin word materia is "tree trunk." The trunk is thought to be the "womb" of life, and materia originates from the word mater."

Receiving high acclaim both within Japan and overseas, Yoshihiko Ueda has continued to present work on the frontline throughout his career of 40 years. His oeuvre profoundly reflects his consistent perspective, thoughts, and personality as a photographer. 

Portraits, forests, family, rivers, buildings, human remains from the Jomon period, portraits of "paper," apple trees... 

Expressing a desire to "discover how the world came to be" and to "affirm the transience that permeates the impermanence within which we live," Ueda's photographs are a manifestation of many years of meticulously developing his concepts and exploring various motifs. 

The manner by which he transcends established notions and preconceptions to capture the intrinsic existence of "life," as well as the vivid presence of his subjects, and the overlapping layers of time, brings about an air of multifacetedness to his work in ways reminiscent of the matière of a painting. 

Such expression is indeed made possible through Ueda's gentle, yet powerfully penetrating gaze that respects and appreciates "life."

In the works, a waterfall, valley, and a woman's body are photographed under the light of the moon at night, and presented in pairs.

Here, water, human body, mother, earth, moon, as forces that have continued to generate life since ancient times, reflect the fact that nature and the female body are equal and closely connected. The faint reflection of the water and the smoothness of the skin of the woman's body share a curious commonality that enables one to sense the luster, presence, and even the breath of nature.

Ueda's distinct and profound gaze that treats nature, people, and all things as equal, and expresses their fundamental life existence in his work, inform viewers of a certain truth. That is, while we generally understand "water," "waterfall" and "human body" symbolically as being different things, in fact they are all connected as life on earth, and are woven together like one large tapestry.

This work is an extension of his previous endeavors in exploring the origins of life that begins with "Quinault" -shot in the 1990s in a sacred Native American Indian forest, followed by his 2011 series "Materia" consisting of photographs of the native forests of Yakushima, and "Apple Tree" shot in 2017.

Ueda regards the earth, a planet that miraculously possesses the power to create life, as one large living organism, and thus perceives "water and rocks" to be fragments of it, as well as women who too have the ability to give birth to life. Photographing under the "moonlight" that illuminates only the writhing of life amidst the dark of the night while letting all else sink into the darkness, was in itself a journey of sorts to infer the origin of life that is shrouded in mystery.

（Quoted from the text for the exhibition "Māter" at TOMIO KOYAMA GALLERY ROPPONGI）

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Related Exhibiton

上田義彦「Māter」  会期：2022年8月27日（土） 〜9月24日（土） 時間：11:00〜19:00 会場：小山登美夫ギャラリー六本木（東京都港区六本木6-5-24 complex665 2F） 　  日月祝休

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Artist Information 

上田義彦 

1957年生まれ、兵庫県出身。写真家、多摩美術大学教授。福田匡伸・有田泰而に師事。1982年に写真家として独立。以来、透徹した自身の美学のもと、さまざまな被写体に向き合う。ポートレート、静物、風景、 建築、パフォーマンスなど、カテゴリーを超越した作品は国内外で高い評価を得る。またエディトリアル ワークをきっかけに、広告写真やコマーシャルフィルムなどを数多く手がけ、東京ADC 賞最高賞、ニューヨークADC賞、カンヌグラフィック銀賞はじめ、国内外の様々な賞を受賞。

2011年に自身のスペースGallery 916を主宰。2014年日本写真協会作家賞を受賞。また、初めて監督、脚本、撮影を務め2021年に公開された、映画『椿の庭』は大きな反響を呼び、映画監督としての仕事も注目されている。

作家活動は独立当初から継続し、2023年までに40冊の写真集を刊行。主な写真集に『QUINAULT』（青幻舎、1993年）、『AMAGATSU』（光琳社出版、1995年）、『at Home』（リトル・モア、2006年）、『Materia』(求龍堂、2012年)、『A Life with Camera』（羽鳥書店、2015年）、『FOREST 印象と記憶 1989-2017』（青幻舎、2018年）、『椿の庭』（赤々舎、2020年）、『Māter』（赤々舎、2022年）、『いつでも夢を』（赤々舎、2023年）などがある。

主な個展に「上田義彦『Photographs』」（東京都写真美術館、2003年）、「Chamber of Curiosities」（東京大学総合研究博物館、2006年／国立台湾芸術大学芸術博物館、台北、2011年／リヨン市ガダーニュ美術館、フランス、2011年）、「QUINAULT」（G/P Gallery、東京、2009年／Michael Hoppen Gallery、ロンドン、2010年／TAI modern、サンタフェ、2010年）、「風景の科学 −芸術と科学の融合−」（ 国立科学博物館 、東京、2019年）など。

作品はエルメス・インターナショナル（フランス）、ケンパー現代美術館（アメリカ）、ニューメキシコ美術館（アメリカ）、フランス国立図書館（パリ）、Stichting Art & Theatre（オランダ）に所蔵されている。

Yoshihiko Ueda

Born in 1957 in Hyogo Prefecture,  After assisting Masanobu Fukuda and Taiji Arita, he established himself as an independent photographer in 1982. Since then, he has pursued a distinct and unwavering visual aesthetic, engaging with a wide range of subjects across portraiture, still life, landscape, architecture, and performance. His work, which transcends traditional categories, has received critical acclaim both in Japan and internationally.

Ueda's editorial beginnings led to a prolific career in advertising and commercial film, earning him numerous accolades including the Tokyo Art Directors Club Grand Prize, a New York Art Directors Club Award, and a Silver Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

In 2011, he founded his own exhibition space, Gallery 916. In 2014, he received the Photographer Award from the Japan Photographic Society. His directorial debut The Garden of Camellias (2021), for which he also wrote the screenplay and handled cinematography, was met with great acclaim and marked a significant expansion of his creative work into cinema.

Ueda has continued his artistic practice without interruption since launching his independent career in the early 1980s. As of 2023, he has published a total of 40 photobooks, including Quinault (Kyoto Shoin International, 1993 / Seigensha, 2003), Amagatsu (Korinsha Press, 1995), at Home (Little More, 2006), Materia (Kyuryudo, 2012), A Life with Camera (Hatori Press, 2015), Forest: Impressions and Memories, 1989-2017 (Seigensha, 2018), A Garden of Camellias (AKAAKA, 2020), Māter (AKAAKA, 2022), and Dream Always (AKAAKA Art Publishing / Jiazazhi, 2023).

Major solo exhibitions include Yoshihiko Ueda: Photographs（Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, 2003); Chamber of Curiosities （University Museum of the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 2006, the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, 2011,  Musées Gadagne, Lyon , 2011); Quinault (G/P Gallery, Tokyo , 2009, Michael Hoppen Gallery, London, 2010, TAI Modern, Santa Fe, 2010); The Science of Landscape: The Fusion of Art and Science(National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, 2019); and Dream Always(Gallery on the Hill, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo 2023).

His works are held in the collections of Hermès International (France), the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art (USA), the New Mexico Museum of Art (USA), the Bibliothèque nationale de France (Paris), and Stichting Art & Theatre (Netherlands).

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Related Items

上田義彦 『いつも世界は遠く、』	上田義彦 『いつでも夢を』	上田義彦 『椿の庭』	上田義彦 『林檎の木』

上田義彦 『M.Ganges』 (out of stock)	上田義彦 『M.river』	上田義彦 『構成 -TORANOMON TOWERS』

To the Far Side of the Moon 

Masamitsu Magome

Consider for example the numerous SF-type illustrations of the future depicted in magazines for kids during Japan's period of rapid economic growth after the end of World War II.

I spent my childhood in the 90s when there were still places that these images of dreamlike worlds and fantastic stories lively and bustling with activity still caught the eye, and I would gaze mesmerized at them.

Today I'm living in the middle of a future imagined in the past, the world that was someone's dream.

But as a child unaware and uninterested in the events that occurred and the context within which that time existed it was imagination that was important to me. Would such a future world really exist one day?

I was drawn with affection to those worlds that I couldn't know.

Things I couldn't know ― they existed everywhere. I felt it strongly, particularly when I was faced with anything I could in no way control or experienced lost opportunities.

On March 11, 2011, the town I lived in suffered damage from liquefaction when the Tohoku Earthquake hit. Reclaimed land in the town was transformed into what resembled a sandbank in the sea, telephone poles and buildings tossed at a slant were lit by the setting sun. The town had once been part of the sea but I only had head knowledge of that. Now the physical reality lay right before my eyes.

Although the devastation to the town wasn't a direct motivation for me, it was at this time that I took up photography.

I didn't have a specific idea of what I wanted to photograph, but I just found it comfortable to sometimes use a medium of expression other than words to eloquently convey something ― especially since I was shy and not an outgoing, sociable sort of person.

Around the time I was 20, I began photographing people. The first photographic work I created was a collection of photographs of my girlfriend.

Those were happy and fulfilling days of photographing the beautiful girl who was the dearest person in the world to me. But something gradually changed within our day-to-day life and eventually her image in the photos appeared hurt and troubled.

Those happy days came to a close as if they had disintegrated and I was left alone.

Up to that time photography and my girlfriend had been synonymous for me, so for a while I was unable to photograph anything. I just continued to look at the photographs that were left, desperately searching for what was hidden beneath the surface.

Why photograph things? For the first time, I began to ponder this entirely obvious question.

The photographic medium can only capture images that can be seen. Scenes cut out with my camera just reflect my own subjectivity ― there is no such thing as a dispassionate documentary. This is the reason why I don't want to take the sort of photographs that reflect conclusions based on my personal yardstick.

I started wanting to take photographs that would be suggestive of what is below the surface that can't be imaged by a camera. All of us live having gone through a vast number of experiences, emotions, and thoughts, and we are weighed down by past regrets and sadness and concerns for the future. I want to take photographs that at the very least are able to touch the contours of this tremendous complexity.

As I went through the repetition of my everyday existence, I became used to the neverending celebrations, festivals, and tragedies that occurred daily, and boredom replaced the blank space of things I couldn't know." Perhaps someday even a person's life or death may become nothing more than a familiar sight for me.

Even so I watch carefully for changes, give form to emotions, and imagine what is hidden on the other side of the world we can see. Whether I am feeling fulfilled or broken, I continue to record the energies of transformation that I see.

Everything that is gone, everything yet to be. Everything you and I experience from the time we are born until the time we die.

If the photograph can serve as a path or door leading to all of these things, then I guess photographing a world I get tired of looking at must still have some meaning.

Masamitsu Magome Tokyo, Summer 2022.（afterword）

The Polyphony of Function and Decoration

Modern Synchronized and Stimulated Each Other

In the 1910s to the 1930s, it was the time when the various forms of modern emerged in Western Europe and other areas of the world including Japan.

While "modernism" based on functionalism is still regarded as the central trend of the time, this period of mass consumerism was also an era of ephemeral "modernity," in which the value was placed on decoration in order to always be new.

These two opposing "modern" actually contained a number of forms of "modern," and created a dense period through intricately relating each other.

Artists of the time shared information across time, synchronized across countries and genres, and their work encompassed everything from painting, sculpture, furniture, tableware and clothing to the architecture and cities that housed them, in other words, all our living spaces and physical activities.

The Wiener Werkstätte inspired the French fashion designer, Paul Poiret, while also influencing the country's modernists, such as architect and interior decorator,Robert Mallet-Stevens.His eye for our general life was also shared by Japanese artists Nobuo Moriya and Kazo Saito. Sonia Delaunay, known for her simultaneity paintings, devoted herself to fashion work, and the modernists, such as René Herbst who worked in architecture and furniture design, paid great attention to show window designs that decorated cities. At the Bauhaus in Germany, women artists shed new light on textiles, and those who moved away from the school worked on the applied arts education at the Burg Giebichenstein School of Arts and Crafts.

As symbolized by the outbreak of the first world war in human history in 1914, the greatest event of this period was the synchronization of the world at once. This exhibition introduces the various forms of "modern" that artists explored with sometimes interacting with each other and resonating with each other like polyphony in this rapidly changing society.

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Related Exhibiton

「交歓するモダン 機能と装飾のポリフォニー」  会期：2022年6月7日（月）～9月4日（火） 時間：10:00～17:30（入館は17:00まで） 定休日：月（7月18日、8月15日は開館） 一般 1400円 / 大学・高校生 900円 / 中学生以下無料 会場：豊田市美術館 （愛知県豊田市小坂本町8-5-1） 巡回展 2022年9月17日（土）～11月28日（月）   島根県立石見美術館 2022年12月17日（土）〜2023年3月5日（日） 東京都庭園美術館

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Artist Information 

ブルーノ・パウル／フェリーチェ・リックス＝ウエノ／ガブリエル・シャネル／グンタ・シュテルツル／フランシス・ジュールダン／ヨーゼフ・ホフマン／斎藤佳三／ル・コルビュジエ, シャルロット・ぺリアン／マリアンネ・ブラント／マルセル・ブロイヤー／森谷延雄／パウル・クレー／ポール・ポワレ／ソニア・ドローネー／etc...

Bruno Paul／Felice Rix-Ueno／Gabrielle Chanel／Gunta Stolzl／Francis Jourdain／Josef Hofmann／Kazo Saito／Le Corbusier,Charlotte Perriand／Marianne Brandt／Marcel Breuer ／Nobuo Moriya／Paul Klee／Paul Poiret／Sonia Delaunay／etc...