- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: Yale University Press (31 Aug 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0300106041
- ISBN-13: 978-0300106046
- Product Dimensions: 26.4 x 23.6 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 841,673 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"Tomatsu's intensely subjective themes and experimental images were decisive to me in my youth... I had eyes for no other photographer." - Daido Moriyama, foreword to Shomei Tomatsu"
Product Description
Japan's brilliant and influential postwar photographer Shomei Tomatsu (b. 1930) has created some of the most dramatic images in the history of photography. Many of his photographs have become icons of the twentieth century. This important book is the first in-depth English-language study of Tomatsu's work. Richly illustrated and handsomely designed, it features more than one hundred plates representing - in ten thematic sections - the full range of his career. Tomatsu emerged in the 1950s with his sensitive pictures of postwar Japan. In the 1960s the artist turned his camera to the aftermath of the atomic bomb and the lingering presence of the U. S. military in his homeland. In subsequent decades his lens has captured the elation of Japan's economic boom and the problems inspired by his culture's increasing westernisation. Throughout, Tomatsu's pictures have consistently resonated not only with Japanese society but also with American culture. Included in this book are essays by distinguished scholars on all aspects of the artist's life and career as well as a selection of brief excerpts from Tomatsu's own writings, many of which have never appeared in English. Skin of the Nation is both a literal and metaphorical reference to the surfaces that have appeared in countless pictures throughout Tomatsu's career. For the artist, skin is more than just a surface, it is a kind of map in which one can read the story of Japan - its essence and its future.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The selection here is slightly patchy, but this is probably due to the book being the catalogue for an exhibition. Otherwise it is a pretty comprehensive retrospective of his career. Images from his Screen and Eros series are poor, the Chewing Gum and Chocolate series is patchy. Tomatsu is at his best when he appears at his simplest and not when he's trying to seem experimental or clever. That's not to say his 'simple' images are plainly simple, I say this in the way Bressons best images are simple. He captures a moment. Whereas projections of slides on a girls ass seems rather A Level photography.
A third of the book is taken up by essay, leaving over a 100 good sized images. You feel disappointed the images in the essay section are not larger though! The design is good, but not good design for the images. Images read better if given a good sized white boarder on all sides and spreading images over two pages is plain annoying. The design likes itself too much and doesn't respect the images enough to stand for themselves. design shouldn't distract from the images. Sorry I'm old fashioned.
The printing seems a little soft here too, the Phadon 55 printing is the opposite, being rather harsh. The Phadon 55 is a very good bargain for first tastes of an artists work, then try this book. Phadon has 55 images, this book has about 112 good sized plates, the exhibition had around 250 images. I wish the book had been a little more comprehensive.
Everyone half civilised can name at least one Japanese Author, it seems odd that a photographer who requires no translation (everyone knows enough about Japan to make sense of these images), is unknown to most in the West. I can only think cultural racism is to blame, as Tomatsu should be as well known as his American and European contemporaries. It's time to catch up, and hopefully more work will become available in English publications. And better quality printing too...
A third of the book is taken up by essay, leaving over a 100 good sized images. You feel disappointed the images in the essay section are not larger though! The design is good, but not good design for the images. Images read better if given a good sized white boarder on all sides and spreading images over two pages is plain annoying. The design likes itself too much and doesn't respect the images enough to stand for themselves. design shouldn't distract from the images. Sorry I'm old fashioned.
The printing seems a little soft here too, the Phadon 55 printing is the opposite, being rather harsh. The Phadon 55 is a very good bargain for first tastes of an artists work, then try this book. Phadon has 55 images, this book has about 112 good sized plates, the exhibition had around 250 images. I wish the book had been a little more comprehensive.
Everyone half civilised can name at least one Japanese Author, it seems odd that a photographer who requires no translation (everyone knows enough about Japan to make sense of these images), is unknown to most in the West. I can only think cultural racism is to blame, as Tomatsu should be as well known as his American and European contemporaries. It's time to catch up, and hopefully more work will become available in English publications. And better quality printing too...
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A different perspective of War
30 Jun 2006
Format:Hardcover
As I stumbled across the Shomei Tomatsu exhibit last August I had no idea how much his work would impact me. Everytime I look at this book I find something new. In this book, Shomei Tomatsu documents pre and post war Japan in the 1950s. He depicts startling images of westerization on Japanese Culture, and the effects of hiroshima. The everyday moments he captured speak in volumes and sheds a new light on an era that changed Japanese culture forever.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Skin of the Nation
6 Aug 2006
Format:Hardcover
This is a high caliber photographic book. The images are stunning and the layout is easy to navigate. The text is informative and well written, but nothing compares to the visuals.
excellent photographer
21 April 2009
Format:Hardcover
The work of this photographer is simply amazing and shocking, really interesting view about thinks around him, original and new and impacting..the only thing I didn't like is that the 1/3 of the book are forewords..but definitely it's worth !!!
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