The highest building in Prague - Prague Events

36
Galleries Culture and Entertainment
GALERIE RUDOLFINUM
Alšovo nábř. 12, Prague 1, tel.: 227 059 349
e-mail: galerie@rudolfinum.org
http://www.galerierudolfinum.cz
open Tue-Sun 10 am-6 pm
Erwin Dubský's Naval Diary, until Apr 15
The exhibition presents a unique collection of historical photographs of
Japan from the 1870's that was recently found at the Lysice castle. 158
Japanese photographs, made using a contemporary popular technique on
albumose paper, is presented in public for the first time ever. Due to the
sensitivity of the originals, the exhibition is divided into two parts that
can be accessed in two thematically equivalent cycles. The images present
the period of fundamental changes in Japan after it was opened up to
the rest of the world again. This moment creates a historical parallel with
the work of Shomei Tomatsu and allows for the historical comparison of
the dynamics and the depth of the changes with a soft touch of nostalgia
resulting from the long time passed.
Prepared in cooperation with the Moravian Gallery in Brno and the
National Monument Preservation Institute, curated by Filip Suchomel.
Along with the exhibition, a representative publication is released with a
detailed description of all the photographs presented.
Shomei Tomatsu - Skin of the Nation, from Jan 11-Feb 15
This extensive retrospective of Tomatsu (born in 1930 in Nagoja) is the
first general overview of his work and it shows not only his position in the
field of Japanese postwar avant-garde but also his role in the evolution of
modern Japanese photography. By means of approx. 260 items, the exhibition
presents all the important areas of Tomatsu's work, e. g. 'Nagasaki
11.02' - an appalling testimony of the consequences of the explosion of
the atomic bomb and of lives of those who survived - of 'Chewing Gum and
Chocolate', which is the author's first attempt to document the far-reaching
americanisation of postwar Japan that was characterised by the contrast
between the presence of American soldiers and the influence of
American pop-culture.
With Shomei Tomatsu, we are transferred from a traditional Japan to a
Japan of economic success, where many economic, political and also cultural
changes are in progress. The father of modern Japanese photography,
one of the most expressive Japanese artists of the last 50 years, influenced
the work of Nobuyoshi Araki and Daido Moriyama as well as (later)
Seiichi Furuya, Takashi Homma and Yoshiko Seino.