Moriyama is a Japanese photographer who takes photo for over 50 years. One of his series of work “Record” is continuing recording and publishing. This series is documenting how he engaged the city. The photos mostly come with rough grainy and blurry monochrome that makes his unique style. His work is close to urban life, so that is include the dark side of the city.
The ways he seeing the city are quite special from others. Sometimes the advertisement board would be in his work presenting an interesting view.
“To copying the outside world, I keep copying those copies, and then the copies of those copies. And while I’m at it, I even copy my own image.” he said. That why some of his work shows himself.
Moriyama is also a writer. “Memories as a dog” is not only a photo book also an autobiography of Moriyama. The stray dog is metaphor of himself. He wrote the memories from his family, work, friends to relationship. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, he shot the environment around him – the streets and alleyways around his Shinjuku home, the roads on which he travelled, the television which he watched. The words and photos relevant strongly emphasis his mood.
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Moriyama is a street photographer. What I learn from his work is following your heart to observe the world, even a tiny corner in the city. Recording daily life is a nice way to keep the memories, that is the prove of your living. As a photographer, observation is the most important way to get the inspiration. While, his personal photography style is the one that I should learn cause it shows the identity of myself.
CHiNG 