New Japanese Photography in New Light

Sandra Phillips, Honorary Curator of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

The exhibition “New Japanese Photography” was held at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 1974, co-curated by John Szarkowski, director of the MoMA Department of Photography, and Shoji Yamagishi, editor of Camera Mainichi. Regarded as “the first attempt to present an extensive survey of contemporary Japanese photography outside Japan,” this exhibition has had a major and long-lasting impact on the study and understanding of Japanese photography overseas to this very day.

Fifty years have passed since that groundbreaking exhibition. To mark this anniversary, we have planned 3 shows curated by SHIRABE Bunmei, KOBAYASHI Mika, and Marc FEUSTEL that reflect on the legacy of “New Japanese Photography” from a contemporary perspective. In addition, Sandra Phillips, curator emeritus of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, reflects back on that exhibition from a new angle. Through the festival, we hope to shine a new light on photography in Japan and highlight the transformation that has taken place in this field over the last fifty years.

"New Japanese Photography in New Light" is a selection of photographs from the works of 1974 introduced by 15 photographers by Sandra Phillips, Honorary Curator of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, after 50 years.