JAMES WHITLOW DELANO: Mangaland: A Tokyo Retrospective in New York

Photograph (c) James Whitlow Delano

Photograph (c) James Whitlow Delano

Photograph (c) James Whitlow Delano

Mangaland: A Tokyo Retrospective, an exhibition marking photographer James Whitlow Delano’s twenty years working in Japan, opens at the Sous Les Etoiles Gallery December 12. Since he visited the city of Tokyo in spring of 1993 at a friend’s urging, James Whitlow Delano has become one of the most informed photographic eyes on Japanese culture. Delano’s photography, characterized by his ethereal use of vignette and partial defocus, present a complex tableau of a society at once jaded yet naive, resilient yet vulnerable.  Also presented are select images from the series Black Tsunami, recently published by FotoEvidence in the new photo "Black Tsunami: Japan 2011," depicting the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima meltdown. Together, the series presents not only the artistic merits of the photographer’s work, but also its journalistic imperative.

James Whitlow Delano, born 1960, is an American-born photographer based in Tokyo, Japan.  As one of today’s foremost photographers of Asia, Delano’s work is held in the permanent collections of  La Triennale di Milano Fine Arts Museum (Milano, Italy); Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX); Museo Fotografia Contemporanea (Milano, Italy); Museum of Photographic Arts’ Dubois Library (San Diego, CA); Noorderlicht Photography Festival (Groningen, Netherlands); and the Permanent Leica Book Archive (Solms, Germany). His work has appeared worldwide in numerous magazines and photo festivals, from Visa Pour L’Image to Rencontres D’Arles to Noorderlicht, and has been awarded internationally, including the Alfred Eisenstadt Award (from Columbia University and LIFE magazine), Leica’s Oskar Barnack, Picture of the Year International, NPPA, and PDN, among many others.

His newly released book, "Black Tsunami: Japan 2011" (FotoEvidence), received a 2012 PX3 Award. James Whitlow Delano is a grantee for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Dec 12 – Jan 31, 2014

 Sous Les Etoiles Gallery

560 Broadway, NYC 

Text and Images courtesy Sous Les Etoiles Gallery

 

ANDERSON + LOW: An Intimate Journey with Chinese Gymnasts at Fahey/Klein

 Anderson + Low

Dong Zhengdong from the Project Endure, 2009/2010

 Anderson + Low

Gymnasium from the Project Endure, 2009/2010

 Anderson + Low

 Beam Training from the Project Endure, 2009/2010

 Anderson + Low

Huang Huidan from the Project Endure, 2009/2010

Anderson + Low

 Warming Up from the Project Endure, 2009/2010

ANDERSON + LOW
ENDURE: An Intimate Journey with the Chinese Gymnasts

FAHEY / KLEIN GALLERY

May 23 - July 6, 2013

Artist Reception: May 23, 7 – 9 PM

Fahey/Klein Gallery presents "ENDURE: An Intimate Journey with the Chinese Gymnasts", the first exhibition in the western world of this project from contemporary photographers, Jonathan Anderson and Edwin Low. The exhibition is comprised of large-scale color photographs taken over a two-year period documenting the elite Chinese gymnasts, their challenging and dedicated training program, their character, and the team's training facilities in Beijing.

Athletics, endurance, and the process of training have inspired Anderson + Low for over twenty years, but it wasn't until 2009 that the duo was granted exclusive and completely unique access to photograph the Chinese gymnasts.   Nobody has been given this access, and the results are as unprecedented as they are extraordinary. Over the following two years, Anderson & Low would work to create a documentary series that reinvents traditional sport imagery. Whereas conventional sport photography primarily focuses on the winning moment, or an instance of heartbreaking defeat-Anderson & Low's images explore the mental and physical process of training itself, and the structure and discipline the young gymnasts endure. The images capture powerful moments of stillness and transcend into a study of the human condition in microcosm, an examination of the purest human emotions under intense pressure. Although the images have a distinctly contemporary feel, athletics, training, and competition are among the most ancient and earliest depicted themes. Anderson & Low's images reference classic Greek and Roman forms, and the ancient ideal of the trained athlete. Their photographs examine the tension between the athlete's ideal and the very real limitations of the human body.

Anderson + Low state that the goal of the project is to celebrate the extraordinary athletes they have spent years photographing alongside, and of whom they remain in awe. They use the word "Endure" in a triumphal sense, celebrating these gymnasts' stamina, endurance, dedication, character and through this they celebrate the human spirit as a whole. Their images avoid judgment; instead, the detailed scrutiny in these images conveys the physical and mental experiences of the athletes, and the photographers' feeling of respect and admiration towards the athletes' strength, grace, power and determination. This became evident to the photographers when they first witnessed the athletes training in their massive gymnasium in early 2009, "We experienced profound emotion, intimate and powerful, made all the more intense by this primal response being so unexpected. It was, and still is, unforgettable; until that moment, we had not known that sport could still make us feel something so simple, as though it was the first time we have ever seen people train." (ENDURE, Serindia Contemporary Publications, 2012)

Since 1990, Jonathan Anderson and Edwin Low have been collaborating creatively as Anderson + Low. Their work has been exhibited internationally, and belongs to many public and private collections including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Victoria + Albert Museum, London; National Portrait Galleries (United Kingdom and Australia); National Gallery of Australia; Museum of Fine Art, Houston; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, and La Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris among many others. A limited edition book of "Endure" was recently released by Serindia Publications (2012). Jonathan Anderson and Edwin Low live and work in London, United Kingdom. (Courtesy Fahey/Klein)

Edwin Low and Jonathan Anderson, October 2012

Untitled (Kit The Swordsman), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Photo © Elizabeth Paul Avedon / All rights reserved

EA: Where did you two meet?
Jonathan Anderson: We met in a photographic facility in London 25 years ago October the 12th this year. We’ve been working as the team 'Anderson + Low' for over twenty years.   Edwin Low: We submitted some work for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. It was quite unique because it was the first time they accepted Photography as an art form in the Royal Academy. The rest is history.  Jonathan Anderson: We thought we’d better take ourselves seriously and carry on, so that's where it all started.

ANDERSON + LOW: Manga Dreams at The Met

Edwin Low and Jonathan Anderson 

photo © Elizabeth Paul Avedon/all rights reserved

Manga Dreams

© Anderson + Low/All Rights Reserved

Untitled (Kit The Swordsman) 2009

© Anderson + Low/All Rights Reserved

 

I spoke with the incredible photography team Anderson + Low at the opening reception for "After Photoshop: Manipulated Photography in the Digital Age" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. After Photoshop explores various ways in which artists have used digital technology to alter the photographic image over the past 20 years. Anderson + Low's photograph, Untitled (Kit The Swordsman), is on exhibition in Gallery 851 at The Met.

EA: Where did the idea originate for this piece?

Jonathan Anderson: The piece is part of a project called Manga Dreams. The original idea was in 2004, we finally shot the project in 2007 and 2008 and it was released in 2011. It’s based around the influence of Asian comics and Anime movies on youth culture worldwide, not only the Asian diaspora, but increasingly in the West as well. We have particular interest in identity and costume and the projection of self in our work; and this series is part of that.

We created this hybrid world that’s part real, part invented and headhunted people we felt had the spirit of Manga characters inside them, brought them into the studio and helped create new identities for them by negotiation and collaboration with them and this is the result.

This is one of a big series of about sixty works. About half of them are tableaux like this and about half of them are unadorned portraits.
 

Some of the work was shown in the Venice Biennale last year; there is this piece at the Met and we’ve had solo exhibitions of the project in museums including La Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, in the UK [Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts] and Canada this year, plus group shows in The Netherlands, Taiwan and Beijing. Works were also acquired by the National Gallery of Australia. There’s going to be a large exhibition in April of 2013 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

EA: Where did you two meet?

Anderson: We met in a photographic facility in London 25 years ago October the 12th this year. We’ve been working as the team 'Anderson + Low' for over twenty years. Edwin Low: We submitted some work for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. It was quite unique because it was the first time they accepted Photography as an art form in the Royal Academy. The rest is history. Anderson: We thought we’d better take ourselves seriously and carry on, so that's where it all started.

After Photoshop:

Manipulated Photography in the Digital Age

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

 September 25, 2012–May 27, 2013

EJEN CHUANG: Cosplay in America

Jordan. Altadena, CA
Dhalsim, from 1991 Street Fighter II
Photograph © Ejen Chuang

Scott. Chapel Hill, NC
Cloud Strife, the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII
Photograph © Ejen Chuang

Ali, Becki, Clayce. Plano, Texas

Nurses from Silent Hill 4 video game

Photograph © Ejen Chuang

Kamasu XIII. CA

"Cosplay in America"
Book Video here

Ejen Chuang was one of 100 photographers chosen to participate in Review Santa Fe 2011. When I met him, I admit I wasn't familiar with this fascinating sub-culture. Cosplay is the act of dressing up as your favorite anime, manga, comic book, movie, video game character or pop culture icon.

Chuang photographed over 1,600 cosplayers traveling 16,000+ miles and spent half a year (more by now) taking portraits. He has created a beautiful, hugely popular book.

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Ejun Interviewed Jordan (top). Altadena, CA

Tell me about the outfit you are wearing – who are you cosplaying and how did you decide to pick this particular character?
I am cosplaying Dhalsim from the Street Fighter series. Being a big Street Fighter fan, I’ve grown up playing the games, and Dhalsim has always been one of my favorites. With his stretchy limbs and fire breathing abilities, he has always been one of the more interesting characters to me. Because he and I share a few looks in common, my small and thin size, and tan skin, I thought it would be a great idea to cosplay him!

Tell me about the process of making your outfit – was it easier or tougher than you imagine it to be ?
Making the outfit was not difficult at all, I assumed it would be much harder to put together because I had no idea how I would do a few of the props, such as the skull necklace and the bracelets, but things fell together nicely. Since I started putting together the costume around Halloween of 2009, I easily found some skulls that matched the look I needed at Party City, and for a good price. The bracelets were simply dog toys I painted silver!

Any interesting stories from people’s reaction to your outfit at the con ? ^^
People freaked out when they saw me, and it caught me by surprise the entire time! No one had seen a Dhalsim cosplayer before. There are a few in the world, but not many people dare to do it. There was even one kid who ran up and hugged me whenever he saw me at the con, which would scare me quite often because he would run up out of nowhere and surprise me. People shouting at me from all over, asking me to do Dhalsim’s victory dance or shout “Yoga Flame!” or “Yoga Fire!” It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed making people happy during the con.

How did you get started cosplaying and what got you interested ?
I started in 2006, and to be honest, I had never even heard of cosplay before that. A group of friends in High School would tell me all these awesome stories they had at Anime Expo, back when it was in Anaheim mind you, but that got me interested. I have always had a flair for the dramatic, and I thought this would be a fun and new experience. To pretend to be someone or something else for a weekend seemed exciting! It’s been a blast ever since!

What are the con did you first attended and what’s your favorite con that you’ve attended so far and why ?
I’ve attended every Anime Expo since 2006, I went to Mikomicon, and Pacific Media Expo (PMX), but by far my favorite con has to be Anime Expo! With it’s large crowds, amazing guests of honor, and a spacious convention center, nothing is left to be desired in my eyes.

What does cosplay mean to you ?
Cosplay means a lot to me. I’ve made so many new friends because of it, doors have opened for me and it gives me the option to be creative and flashy. This hobby is by far the most productive one I have ever had, and then being able to put on your hard work and walk around in it and have people recognize you, and maybe even compliment you on your work, it feels great!

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"I will be with Crunchyroll at Anime Expo in Los Angeles this year. Yup, I know some of y'all had trouble finding me at other cons well, fear not, I should be very hard to miss at AX this year. ^^." – from Ejun Chuang's Cosplay Blog. Drop by the Crunchyroll Booth at the Anime Expo July 1-4th and buy Ejun's book - support Creativity and Diversity!

Ejen Chuang's Cosplay

La Lettre de la Photographie:
Review Santa Fe Part I / Part II