 | 1601 B Paseo de Peralta Santa Fe NM 87501 gallery@taigallery.com 505 984-1387 |
"Yusuzumi", 2009 
"Yukiwariso", 2011 |
Japanese Contemporary Photography
Taka Kobayashi How can the inner strength and will of Japanese women today be captured in a deeply traditional Japanese icon, the geisha? Taka Kobayashi achieves just that in his Utsuyaka series. He derives inspiration from paintings by Shoen Uemura (1875-1949), a woman artist painting at a time in Japan when professional women artists were unheard of. By invoking Uemura's compositional sensibility and subject matter Kobayshi plays with ideas of women in positions of influence. Despite the western misconceptions about them, geisha are exclusive, respected artists and entertainers. The first geisha performance artists were men, but as women took on this profession they quickly replaced the male artists. As entertainers in high demand, these talented women artists moved in the influential circles of the Japanese elite, some becoming leading tastemakers and trendsetters. The image of white makeup, hairstyle and unique maiko (very young women and apprentice geisha) kimonos is a rich subject loaded with layered meaning. In these photos Kobayashi dressed the maiko in clothes that would be worn by a geiko (full geisha). When he proposed this the proprietress of the Geisha house was quite upset as it broke with tradition. Kobayashi takes all that weighted importance and conceals it in beautiful photos bright with colorful textures and composition, still leaving it smoldering beneath the surface. Artist's statement: "One day, I came across an announcement of an exhibition of works by Shoen Uemura (1875-1949), one of the great masters of Japanese painting. I felt that the painter's style was immensely awesome, consistently revealing the grace and dignity the female models kept inside themselves. Also I supposed that a typical example was her most representative work created in 1939, entitled Jo-no-Mai (English title is Noh Dance Prelude. See the left image), featuring a dancing woman dressed in a kimono in traditional Japanese red who resolutely stares straight ahead the direction she herself points her fan, as if holding her passionate feelings in the innermost part of the heart. Indeed, I was struck and inspired to realize the same sense of world by photography when I heard of Shoen's profession that this work attempted to represent a strong will a woman held inside, which was absolutely inviolable. But how can I find a model ideal for my project? - I asked myself. The subject I wanted to have was a woman who has inner beauty and strength as well as impeccable physical appearance. No compromise was acceptable to explore true beauty. Fortunately, I remembered Mr. Maruyama, a corporate adviser to a Kyoto traditional kimono manufacturer to ask for help. Thankfully, he invited me to his favorite okiya (geisha boarding house) located in the Gion district of Kyoto, where I had a fateful encounter with a maiko named Kosen. It was one evening in spring 2007, in an atmospheric sukiya-dukuri (tea-ceremony) room measuring 8 tatami mats provided with a chic table lacquered in black and three comfortable legless chairs that I witnessed her performance for the first time. Wearing a seasonal-patterned furisode (long-sleeved kimono worn by unmarried women on ceremonial occasions) and a nagaobi (long sash), having her hair in nihongami (traditional Japanese hairstyle) and powdering her girly innocent face, Kosen performed traditional Japanese dance in a graceful and noble way in tune with tasteful kouta (traditional ballads sung to the accompaniment of a shamisen, the Japanese string instrument). Her dance was extremely airy and fantastic, reminding of a butterfly attracted to a flower. In the room, time passed in a gentle pace to ease the souls of all of us, those living in the hurried world of today. I still remember vividly that I then felt a time-slip sensation as if led to Togenkyo (a paradise on earth). Living in the modern age as a modern girl, she however had a different face as a maiko. Her eyes shone with an immensely strong will, in sharp contrast with her lovely appearance and tender kyokotoba (Kyoto dialect). Willingly devoting herself to master a series of geigoto (artistic accomplishments) which had been handed down over centuries in the country, her tireless effort and firm determination manifested in generous hospitality extended to us, the guests. Then I found myself deeply fascinated with Kosen and her world combining modesty and dignity. And the next moment, I was seized with a keen desire to photograph her, to be more precise, to capture her growth process from a maiko girl into a geisha woman like that from a chrysalis into a butterfly. In the post-production process, I focused on cool and stylish finishing, considering that she is a modern young woman always living in Hanamachi (a geisha district)." - Taka Kobayashi Taka Kobayashi Education/apprenticeships: 1978 Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City 1979 Apprenticeship Gordon Munro studio, New York City 1980 Apprenticeship office, Tokyo 1981 Freelance photographer Paris / opens New York City studio Honors Received: The London International Advertising Award, Commercial Film Category The Japan Magazine Advertising Award, Gold Prize 6th Mexico Poster Biennale, Gold Prize 9th Asia-Pacific Advertising Award, Bronze Prize New York Festival Print Category Award, Silver Prize China Times Asia-Pacific Advertising Award, Silver Prize Previous Exhibitions: 1987 solo show "Retrato" Kodak Photo Salon, Tokyo 1990 solo show "UP" Hanae Mori Open Gallery, Tokyo 2000 solo show "Serenity" at Idee Shop, Tokyo 2005 solo show "Wabana" (Japanese flower) at Ema, Daikanyama, Japan 2007 solo show "Wabana" at the American Club, Tokyo 2008 solo show "Wabana" at Kyoto Gallery Shibunkaku, Japan 2011 solo show "Utsuyaka", Japanese American Cultural Community Center, Los Angeles 2012 solo show "Geigoto Photography by Taka Kobayashi", TAI Gallery, Santa Fe |
Call or contact the gallery via email to place an order:
TAI Gallery
505 984-1387
gallery@taigallery.com
Back to entry page
     |
|
TAI Gallery
gallery@taigallery.com © 1998-2008 |