Masao Yamamoto
Japanese, 1957-
A Box of Ku #165 [birds on a small tree], 1991, printed 1992
toned gelatin silver print
3 3/8 × 3 5/8 in.
SBMA, Gift of Joan Almond
2017.21.14
Yamamoto in Moscow (2009)
"Capturing light is the essence of photography. I am convinced more than ever that photography was created when humans wished to capture light." - Masao Yamamoto
COMMENTS
Masao Yamamoto (山本昌男 Yamamoto Masao, born 1957) is a Japanese freelance photographer known for his small photographs, which seek to individualize the photographic prints as objects.
Framed individually, his work can be similar to the poetry style of HAIKU. HAIKU brings flow to the poetry world by featuring seasonal words and capturing a vivid moment. Yamamoto’s photographic works present a moment in a similarly beautiful and momentous flow. The world is beautiful and ever changing; only when we stop at this river do we notice the flow.
Masao Yamamoto is inspired by the Japanese philosophy of Zen, and the belief that meditation and the pursuit of beauty play an essential role in the development of human beings. Yamamoto’s philosophical and spiritual roots contribute to his distinctive photographic style, in which the ordinary is revealed as something extraordinary.
Yamamoto’s small-scale photographs, from his earlier series A Box of Ku and Nakazora, are visual haikus that can be displayed as a collection of harmonious objects, or stand alone as individual images. The prints are meditative objects, each image a trigger that encourages the viewer to draw on their own memories and subconscious. While the images are simple and observational, their suggestive nature is what gives them power.
In his newest series, KAWA=FLOW, Yamamoto explores “the world where we are and the world where we go in the future.” The images in this series are a reflection on nature and the relationship between the world and self. Evocative of harmony and contentment, they reflect Yamamoto’s philosophy that respect and humility toward the universe is achieved by uncovering quietude in oneself, a process found only through nature.
Masao Yamamoto’s photographs are included in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and International Center of Photography, New York, among others. His monographs include Fujsan, é, Omizuao, Nakazora, and A Box of Ku.
- Roxana Wax, "Masao Yamamoto - Shizuka", Graphicine, March 13, 2017
http://www.graphicine.com/masao-yamamoto-shizuka/
SBMA CURATORIAL LABELS
The works of Masao Yamamoto live somewhere in the realm between painting and photography: his small prints are hand-worked, washed in pigment derived from tea leaves, and torn and creased to resemble treasured heirlooms. Born in Gamagori City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Yamamoto originally trained as an oil painter before taking up photography. Since then, he has created a number of ongoing series, including "A Box of Ku" and "Nakazora", each of which has expanded in number over the course of several years and even decades.
Inspired by ideas of emptiness found in Zen philosophy, Yamamoto creates precious, gem-like images that aim to distill nature into simple motifs evoking buried emotions and forgotten memories. Many have been interpreted as “visual haikus,” akin to the Japanese art of short poetry that uses natural metaphors from everyday life to conjure up deep sentiment. When Yamamoto’s photographs are shown as an ensemble, such as in the case of his accordion books, the significance of one image is meant to flow into the meaning of the next. By selecting these compelling fragments of nature, Yamamoto shows how a single image can conjure a multitude of responses shaped by each viewer’s individual experiences and memories.
- Crosscurrents, 2018