JTF (just the facts): 12 black and white images, approximately 9×7 or reverse, in editions of 20, framed in the main gallery (see installation image at right.) Also, on one wall and corner, an installation of 22 black and white images, of varying small sizes (see installation image below right.)
Comments/Context: In contrast to the current Times Square aesthetic in contemporary photography (large, colorful, and shouting at you from the wall), Yamamoto’s show reminds us of the wonder of the special and personal. The Nakazora installation in this exhibit has images so tiny (as small as 1×1 inches) that you are forced to go up extremely close and get involved in the work to even see what is going on. What you discover are simple moments that seem private or interior: snow, waterfalls, trees, Mount Fuji, animals. And while these images are individually unrelated, they interact and work together well to evoke a sense of contemplation and peacefulness. The larger images in the show come at this same idea from a slightly different viewpoint, where tress and waterfalls, or cherry blossoms, or mountains and fog come together to portray one evocative moment (rather than a series of smaller pinpoints). Either way, Yamamoto’s point of view comes through clearly.
Collector’s POV: The framed images range in price from $1400-2400, with the eagle priced at $5400. The entire installation can be had for $9000, or it can be purchased as any number of subsets, ranging from $2000-3000, depending on the number of prints included. While there aren’t any images that fit into our particular collection, I very much enjoyed this show and can recommend it as an antidote to an overdose of noisy contemporary photography.
Rating: * (1 star) GOOD (rating system defined here)
Masao Yamamoto, Kawa = Flow
Through October 18th
535 West 22nd Street
New York, NY 10011
