Noritaka Minami Sgn January 9 – February 14, 2021 Exhibition Inventory List Direct Inquiries to Jan Christian Bernabe Jan@Flxst.Co 773-800-1470

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL | 60616 [email protected] | www.flxst.co | 773-800-1470

NORITAKA MINAMI SGN JANUARY 9 – FEBRUARY 14, 2021 EXHIBITION INVENTORY LIST DIRECT INQUIRIES TO JAN CHRISTIAN BERNABE [email protected] 773-800-1470

NORITAKA MINAMI is a Chicago-based photographer; his project SGN is an investigation in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and the current state of the steel lattice towers first erected by the French as utility poles during the early twentieth century to facilitate the development of the Indochinese Union. Despite the passage of time and the tumultuous history experienced in this region since their construction, these lattice towers have endured and remained a consistent presence in the built environment of the city. The major social, political, and economic developments within Vietnamese society in recent decades have also led to these structures becoming a truly extraordinary visual sight. The number of cables now supported by the lattice towers far exceeds the original capacity of their design and has transformed each one into a unique, sculpture-like object. The overwhelming quantity of cables that have accumulated on the lattice towers is the product of the rapid socio-economic transformations that Vietnam have experienced since reforms were initiated in 1986 with Đổi Mới [Renovation]. The photographs in SGN examine these overlooked remnants of French colonialism in the contemporary landscape of Ho Chi Minh City as structures that represent the historical trajectory of the region as it evolved from one of the centers of the French colonial empire in Southeast Asia to the economic engine of an independent and developing nation attempting to merge Cao Thắng & Võ Văn Tần socialism with global capitalism. At this moment, these Archival pigment print lattice towers and the innumerable cables they support are 36 x 24 inches also starting to be removed from sight as part of the modernization of the city’s landscape in the twenty-first 1 of 5 (2 AP) century. This recent tide of urban redevelopment and the 2019 decision to remove what is viewed as “blight” has only $1,800 increased the photographer’s sense of urgency to document these structures before they permanently disappear from the FLXNM004 built environment. With Vietnamese society in the midst of major changes at this moment in history, the photography series meditates on the past and considers the imminent future of this landscape through the presence and disappearance of these lattice towers.

NORITAKA MINAMI FLXST 1

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL | 60616 [email protected] | www.flxst.co | 773-800-1470

BIOGRAPHY NORITAKA MINAMI is a photographer based in Chicago. He received a B.A. in Art Practice from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004 and an M.F.A. in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine in 2011. In 2015, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Photography at Loyola University Chicago. He has also taught photography at Harvard University, Wellesley College, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, UC Berkeley, and UC Irvine.

and UC Merced Art Gallery. He has also shown in Trần Đình Xu group exhibitions at Aperture (New York), Somerset Archival pigment print House (London), Photo Basel (Basel), Las Cienegas 36 x 24 inches Projects (Los Angeles), New Wight Gallery (Los 1 of 5 (2 AP) Angeles), and Kearney Street Workshop (San 2019 Francisco). Minami’s works are held in the collections $1,800 of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, UCLA FLXNM005 Architecture and Urban Design, and Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago.

NORITAKA MINAMI FLXST 2

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL | 60616 [email protected] | www.flxst.co | 773-800-1470

Cống Quỳnh Archival pigment print 36 x 24 inches 1 of 5 (2 AP) 2019 $1,800

FLXNM006

NORITAKA MINAMI FLXST 3

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL | 60616 [email protected] | www.flxst.co | 773-800-1470

Cao Thắng & Điện Biên Phủ Archival pigment print 36 x 24 inches 1 of 5 (2 AP) 2019 $1,800

FLXNM007

NORITAKA MINAMI FLXST 4

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL | 60616 [email protected] | www.flxst.co | 773-800-1470

Trần Đình Xu & Cao Bá Nhạ Archival pigment print 36 x 24 inches 1 of 5 (2 AP) 2019 $1,800

FLXNM008

NORITAKA MINAMI FLXST 5

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL | 60616 [email protected] | www.flxst.co | 773-800-1470

Công Trường Dân Chu ̉ Archival pigment print 36 x 24 inches 1 of 5 (2 AP) 2019 $1,800

FLXNM009

NORITAKA MINAMI FLXST 6

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL | 60616 [email protected] | www.flxst.co | 773-800-1470

Đường Tôn Thất Tùng & Bùi Thị Xuân Archival pigment print 36 x 24 inches 1 of 5 (2 AP) 2019 $1,800

FLXNM010

NORITAKA MINAMI FLXST 7

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL | 60616 [email protected] | www.flxst.co | 773-800-1470

Trần Quang Khải & Đường Trần Khắc Chân Archival pigment print 36 x 24 inches 1 of 5 (2 AP) 2019 $1,800

FLXNM011

NORITAKA MINAMI FLXST 8

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL| 60616 www.flxst.co | [email protected] | 773-413-8030

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact Susan von Seggern Public Relations Director FLXST Contemporary [email protected] 213-840-0077

Chicago Photographer Noritaka Minami’s SGN Series on View at Motor Row District’s Artists of Color Focused FLXST Contemporary Now

• Opening Reception: Saturday, January 9, 5:30-8 pm (by reservation only) • Exhibition Dates: January 9 – February 18, 2021

Chicago, IL— Born in Japan, Noritaka Minami is a Chicago-based photographer currently exhibiting his unique and thoughtful SGN photo series, an investigation of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and the current state of the steel lattice towers first erected there by the French as utility poles during the early twentieth century to facilitate the development of the Indochinese Union. Despite the passage of time and the tumultuous history experienced in this region since their construction, these lattice towers have endured and remained a consistent presence in the built environment of the city. SGN will open on January 9 with a reception from 5:30 - 8 pm, and runs through February 14 at FLXST Contemporary, 2251 S. Michigan Ave. Suite 220, Chicago, IL 60616. Due to COVID 19 precautions, reception attendance and viewing is by appointment only and can be booked on TOCK app or on the Tock website.

The major social, political, and economic developments within Vietnamese society in recent decades have also led to these structures becoming a truly extraordinary visual sight. The number of cables now supported by the lattice towers far exceeds the original capacity of their design and has transformed each one into a unique, sculpture-like object.

The overwhelming quantity of cables that have accumulated on the lattice towers is the product of the rapid socioeconomic transformations that Vietnam has experienced since reforms were initiated in 1986 with Đổi Mới (Renovation). The photographs in SGN examine these overlooked remnants of French colonialism in the

FLXST Contemporary Press Release 1

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL| 60616 www.flxst.co | [email protected] | 773-413-8030 contemporary landscape of Ho Chi Minh City as structures that represent the historical trajectory of the region as it evolved from one of the centers of the French colonial empire in Southeast Asia to the economic engine of an independent and developing nation attempting to merge socialism with global capitalism.

At this moment, these lattice towers and the innumerable cables they support are also starting to be removed from sight as part of the modernization of the city’s landscape in the twenty-first century. This recent tide of urban redevelopment and the decision to remove what is viewed as “blight” has only increased Minami’s sense of urgency to document these structures before they permanently disappear. With Vietnamese society in the midst of major changes, this photography series meditates on the past and considers the imminent future of this landscape through the presence and disappearance of these lattice towers.

Noritaka Minami is a photographer based in Chicago. He received a B.A. in Art Practice from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004 and an M.F.A. in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine in 2011. In 2015, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Photography at Loyola University Chicago. He has also taught photography at Harvard University, Wellesley College, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, UC Berkeley, and UC Irvine.

He is a recipient of grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Santo Foundation, and Center for Cultural Innovation. In 2015, he published a monograph titled 1972 – Nakagin Capsule Tower (Kehrer Verlag), which received the 2015 Architectural Book Award from the Deutsches Architekturmuseum in Frankfurt, Germany. Solo exhibitions of his works have been held at Kana Kawanishi Gallery (Tokyo), SFO Museum (San Francisco), USC Roski School of Art and Design, UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design, and UC Merced Art Gallery. He has also shown in group exhibitions at Aperture (New York), Somerset House (London), Photo Basel (Basel), Las Cienegas Projects (Los Angeles), New Wight Gallery (Los Angeles), and Kearney Street Workshop (San Francisco). Minami’s works are held in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, UCLA Architecture and Urban Design, and Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago. # # #

For more information on Noritaka Minami, please see www.noritakaminami.com. For more information on FLXST Contemporary, please see www.flxst.co. For press information on this show and FLXST Contemporary, please contact Susan von Seggern at [email protected] or 213-840-0077.

ARTIST WEBSITE www.noritakaminami.com

FLXST Contemporary Press Release 2

2251 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE, SUITE 220 | CHICAGO, IL| 60616 www.flxst.co | [email protected] | 773-413-8030

SGN opens on January 9, 2021, and runs through February 14, 2021. The gallery requires that patrons book a time slot to attend the opening reception using the Tock app on their phones or computers. We also encourage patrons to set an appointment to view the show due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Patrons can also email or call the gallery to schedule an appointment for a private viewing. Due to COVID19, gallery patrons must wear face masks at all times in the gallery. Gallery hours may change because of the pandemic.

CALENDAR EDITORS WHAT: SGN WHO: Noritaka Minami WHEN: January 9 to February 14, 2021 Gallery Hours: By appointment. WHERE: FLXST Contemporary, 2251 S. Michigan Ave. Suite 220, Chicago, IL 60616 RESERVATIONS FOR PRIVATE VIEWING: https://www.exploretock.com/flxstcontemporary

IMAGE Hi-res image accompanying this press release: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dkwvypfjqPs8RzFX7 Caption for image: Noritaka Minami, Cao Thắng & Võ Văn Tần, archival pigment print, 36 x 24 inches, 1 of 5 (2 AP), 2019. Courtesy of the artist and FLXST Contemporary.

FLXST Contemporary Press Release 3 NORITAKA MINAMI

(415) 902-1456 [email protected] www.noritakaminami.com

EDUCATION 2011 University of California, Irvine MFA Studio Art, Emphasis in Visual Studies Graduate Program

2004 University of California, Berkeley BA Art Practice, Minor in Asian American Studies

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2020 SGN, FLXST Contemporary, Chicago, IL

2018 California City, California, Kana Kawanishi Photography, Tokyo, Japan Noritaka Minami: California City, California, SFO Museum, San Francisco, CA California City, California, 3001/STATION, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

2015 Noritaka Minami: 1972, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA

2013 Future Anterior, UC Merced Art Gallery, University of California, Merced, CA

2012 1972, Perloff Gallery, UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design, Los Angeles, CA

2011 1972, University Art Gallery, University of California, Irvine, CA

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2020 Material Intentions, FLXST Contemporary, Chicago, IL The Road, James Kerney Gallery, Mercer Community College, West Windsor, NJ Midwest Midwinter, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN

2019 Delirious Cities, Aperture Foundation, New York, NY Santo Foundation 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Arcade Contemporary Art Projects, St. Louis, MO Need/Want, Wonder Foto, Taipei, Taiwan Need/Want, United Photo Industries Gallery, New York, NY Need/Want, Museum of Contemporary Photography of Ireland/PhotoIreland, Dublin, Ireland Need/Want, 72 Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Where We Live, Perspective Gallery, Evanston, IL

2018 Generation, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California, Berkeley, CA Positive/Negative, Slocumb Galleries, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN

2017 Cupboard Love, Gewerbemuseum, Winterthur, Switzerland On Freedom, Aperture Foundation, New York, NY I Have Vivid Memories of Lightning, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Chicago, IL Best of DAM Architectural Book Award, Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt, Germany The Visual Metric, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA Syngenta Photography Award, Somerset House, London, UK Photo Basel, Basel, Switzerland Histories and Memories, Tom Thomas Gallery, Indiana University East, Richmond, IN

1 of 12 GROUP EXHIBITIONS (continued) 2017 Construct, Jack Olson Gallery, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL Small Works, Harper College, Palatine, IL

2016 The Bright Invisible, Pingyao International Photography Festival, Pingyao, China Fertile Solitude, Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA On the Shelf, Filter Space, Chicago, IL The Photobook Exhibition, Athens Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece Trifecta, Ralph Arnold Gallery, Loyola University, Chicago, IL

2015 Urbanism, Kana Kawanishi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan Made in Woodstock IV, Center for Photography, Woodstock, NY Music in the Woods, Woodstock Artists Association and Museum, Woodstock, NY Art & Architecture Arad, Arad Artists-in-Residence, Arad, Israel

2014 The Fence, Photoville, Brooklyn, NY Departure, Harvard Monday Gallery, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Massachusetts, Gallery 263, Cambridge, MA

2013 Like a Rowboat, Aviary, Boston, MA New England Photography Biennial, Danforth Art Museum, Framingham, MA Carousel, Spontaneous Celebrations, Boston, MA Fanatic, PØST, Los Angeles, CA

2012 Movement in Many Parts, Asian Resource Center Gallery, Oakland, CA

2011 Nothing Comes From Nothing, Las Cienegas Projects, Los Angeles, CA Greater Los Angeles MFA, University Art Gallery, California State University, Long Beach, CA The Art of Photography, Lyceum Theatre Gallery, San Diego, CA One Size Fits All, Kearney Street Workshop, San Francisco, CA

2010 Greater Los Angeles MFA, University Art Gallery, California State University, Long Beach, CA Ground Control, University Art Gallery, University of California, Irvine, CA Tierney House Exhibition, University of California, Irvine, CA

2009 Wight Biennial, New Wight Gallery, University of California, Los Angeles, CA The Longest Day of Summer, S1F Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Welcome to the Neighborhood, Tight Space, Santa Ana, CA UC Irvine MFA Open Studios, University of California, Irvine, CA

2008 APAture, Kearney Street Workshop, San Francisco, CA Insider/Outsider, Root Division, San Francisco, CA Meridian Interns Program, Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2007 Box Art, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA Root Division 6th Annual Art Auction, Root Division, San Francisco, CA New Visions 2007, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA Fetish: The Culture of Fear & Desire, Space 180/Kearney Street Workshop, San Francisco, CA

2005 APAture, SomArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA

2004 Senior Exhibition, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California, Berkeley, CA The Summer Show, Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California, Berkeley, CA

2 of 12 MONOHRAPH 1972 – Nakagin Capsule Tower, Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany, 2015.

AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS 2020 Artist Fellowship in Photography, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Chicago, IL Summer Research Stipend, Loyola University, Chicago, IL Faculty Research Leave, Loyola University, Chicago, IL

2019 Nomination, Vontobel Contemporary Photography Prize, Zurich, Switzerland Shortlist, IMA Next Photography Competition (Theme #03: Now), Tokyo, Japan Winning Selection, Tokyo International Photography Competition, Tokyo, Japan Editors Pick, 2019 Reclaim Award, Cologne, Germany Research Support Grant, Loyola University, Chicago, IL Department of Fine and Performing Arts Travel Grant, Loyola University, Chicago, IL

2018 Research Grant, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago, IL Individual Artist Awards Top Honor, Santo Foundation, St. Louis, MO Special Mention, Urbanautica Institute Awards, Asolo, Italy Longlist Selection, Aesthetica Art Prize, Aesthetica Magazine, York, United Kingdom Shortlist, Hariban Award, Benrido Collotype Atelier, Kyoto, Japan Department of Fine and Performing Arts Travel Grant, Loyola University, Chicago, IL

2017 Artist-in-Residence Program, LATITUDE, Chicago, IL Shortlist, Hariban Award, Benrido Collotype Atelier, Kyoto, Japan Third Place Award, Histories and Memories exhibition, Indiana University East Finalist, Dotphotozine Award for Excellence in Photography, California State University, San Bernardino Summer Research Stipend, Loyola University, Chicago, IL Department of Fine and Performing Arts Travel Grant, Loyola University, Chicago, IL

2016 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York, NY Midwest Photographers Project, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL Department of Fine and Performing Arts Travel Grant, Loyola University, Chicago, IL

2015 Architectural Book Award, Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Frankfurt, Germany Publication Grant, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago, IL Artist-in-Residence Program, Art & Architecture Arad, Arad, Israel Exhibition Support, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York, NY Flash Forward Honorable Mention, Magenta Foundation, Toronto, Canada Department of Fine and Performing Arts Travel Grant, Loyola University, Chicago, IL

2014 Artist-in-Residence Program, Center for Photography at Woodstock, NY Finalist, APA/Lucie Foundation Scholarship, Lucie Foundation, Los Angeles, CA Finalist, Center for Documentary Studies Essay Prize in Photography, Duke University, Durham, NC Finalist, JGS Quarterly Contest, Forward Thinking Museum, New York, NY Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard University Derek Bok Center, Cambridge, MA

2013 Ryan R. Gibbs Award for Photography, New Delta Review, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, Harvard University Derek Bok Center, Cambridge, MA

2012 Artist-in-Residence Program, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA

2011 Durfee Foundation/Center for Cultural Innovation ARC Grant, Los Angeles, CA Exhibition Grant, University of California, Irvine

3 of 12 AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS (continued) 2010 Graduate Merit Fellowship, University of California, Irvine Medici Scholar Award, University of California, Irvine Center for Asian Studies Research Grant, University of California, Irvine Graduate Student Research Award (Fall Term), University of California, Irvine Graduate Student Research Award (Spring Term), University of California, Irvine Department of Studio Art Production Grant, University of California, Irvine

2009 Graduate Merit Fellowship, University of California, Irvine Graduate Student Research Award (Fall Term), University of California, Irvine

2008 Graduate Merit Fellowship, University of California, Irvine Graduate Student Research Award (Fall Term), University of California, Irvine Department of Studio Art Production Grant, University of California, Irvine

2000 Stuckey Memorial Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley P.S. & C.C. Camp Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Architecture and Urban Design Center for Photography at Woodstock, NY

TEACHING APPOINTMENTS 2015 - present Assistant Professor, Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Loyola University Chicago

2015 Visiting Faculty, Department of Art, Wellesley College

2014 – 2015 Visiting Faculty, Photography Area, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University

2013 – 2015 Teaching Fellow, Department of Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University

2012 – 2014 Visiting Faculty, Department of Art Practice, University of California, Berkeley

2011 Visiting Faculty, Department of Art, University of California, Irvine

ARTIST TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS 2020 Artist Talk, Art Department, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL Artist Talk, School of Communication, Point Park University, Pittsburgh, PA

2019 Artist Talk, Perspective Gallery, Evanston, IL

2018 Visiting Artist Talk, Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California Artist Talk, Kana Kawanishi Photography, Tokyo, Japan

2017 Visiting Artist Talk, Southern California Institute of Architecture, Los Angeles, CA Artist Talk, LATITUDE, Chicago, IL

2016 Artist Talk, MAS Context, Chicago, IL Center for Urban Research and Learning Seminar, Loyola University, Chicago, IL Reading Images Series, Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York, NY Exhibition Juror Talk, Jack Olson Memorial Gallery, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL

4 of 12 ARTIST TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS (continued) 2016 Department of Art Lecture Series, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA Arnold Flaten Memorial Lecture Series, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

2015 Book Talk Series, Daikanyama T-Site, Tokyo Japan Artist-in-Residence Lecture, Art & Architecture Arad, Israel Grants Announcement, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago, IL Artist-in-Residence Video Profile, Center for Photography at Woodstock, NY

2014 Conference Presentation, Harvard Film and Visual Studies PhD Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

2013 Visiting Artist Colloquium, UC Merced Art Gallery, University of California, Merced

2012 Four Photographers Lecture Series, Tufts University/School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Visiting Artist Talk, Department of Art, San Francisco State University

2011 Visiting Artist Talk, Department of Art, Long Beach City College Greater Los Angeles MFA Exhibition Talk, California State University, Long Beach Guest Lecture, Department of Art History, University of California, Irvine

2010 Graduate Student Forum, Center for Asian Studies, University of California, Irvine Cross Cultural Center Rainbow Festival & Conference, University of California, Irvine Visiting Artist Talk, Department of Art, Long Beach City College

2009 Visiting Artist Talk, Department of Art Practice, University of California, Berkeley Visiting Artist Talk, Department of Studio Art, University of California, Irvine

2008 Visiting Artist Talk, BAY-Peace Visual Expression, San Francisco, CA

2007 New Visions 2007 Exhibition Talk, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA

2005 APAture Exhibition Talk, Kearny Street Workshop, San Francisco, CA

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Tran, John L. “Noritaka Minami’s City of Broken Dreams.” The Japan Times (Tokyo, Japan), May 16, 2018.

“California City, California.” DODOOBA. April 2018. https://www.dodooba.com/guide_details.php?ref_id=4785&feature_type=0

Minami, Noritaka. “Testimonial / Noritaka Minami.” Professional Drum Scanning. April 19, 2018. http://www.drumscanning.co.uk/2018/04/19/noritaka-minami-testimonial/

Gewerbemuseum Winterthur. “Cupboard Love.” Gewerbemuseum Winterthur Youtube Channel. April 10, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsLO2LQVtIM

“California City, California.” IMA, April 6, 2018. https://imaonline.jp/news/exhibition/20180406-3/#img1

Booth, Katie. “What New York Photo Editors Want to See.” Aperture. March 14, 2018. https://aperture.org/blog/new-york-photo-editors-want-see/

“46 Years of Nakagin Capsule Tower.” Yi Magazine. February 22, 2018. https://www.cbnweek.com/articles/normal/20286

2017 Jack Olson Gallery. Construct: Contemporary Artists Exploring the Built Environment. DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University, 2017.

Kim, Ann B. Histories and Memories. Richmond, IN: Indiana University East, 2017.

Peot, Jason and Barney, Sandy. Small Works. Palatine, IL: Harper College, 2017.

Tognarelli, Paula. The Visual Metric. Winchester, MA: Griffin Museum of Photography, 2017.

Spring, Elin. “Measuring Up!” What Will You Remember? December 13, 2017. https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/the-visual-metric-group-show-at-griffin-museum-at-lafayette-city-center-boston/

Dworschak, Helmut. “Der Schrank Spricht.” Der Landbote. December 2, 2017. https://www.landbote.ch/winterthur/stadtkultur/der-schrank-spricht/story/18554914

Minami, Noritaka. “California City, California.” HANT - Magazin für Fotografie Ausgabe 10, November 2017.

Minami, Noritaka. “Tract No. 3279 (California City, California).” DEPOT Issue 01: Decision (November 2017): 18 – 19.

Ming, Ye. “Pictures Reveal Life Inside Tiny Futuristic Cubes.” National Geographic Photography. October 24. 2017. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/10/nakagin-capsule-tower/

“October 2017 Artist in Residence: Noritaka Minami.” LATITUDE Chicago. October 2, 2017. https://www.latitudechicago.org/news/2017/9/20/october-2017-artist-in-residence-noritaka-minami

Minami, Noritaka. “Through the Lens: Noritaka Minami.” SWISS Magazine, September 2017.

8 of 12 Heiserman, Katie. “Exhibition Review: On Freedom at Aperture Gallery.” MUSÉE Magazine. August 2, 2017. http://museemagazine.com/culture/2017/8/2/exhibition-review-on-freedom-at-aperture-gallery

Kohlstedt, Kurt. “California City: The Half-Built Desert Metropolis of the Golden State.” Web Urbanist. August 1, 2017. https://weburbanist.com/2017/08/01/california-city-the-half-built-desert-metropolis-of-the-golden-state/

Budds, Diana. “This California Ghost City is a Monument to Bad Planning.” Fast Company. July 20, 2017. https://www.fastcodesign.com/90133913/this-california-ghost-city-is-a-monument-to-bad-planning

“Picturing Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms.” PDN Online. July 14, 2017. https://potd.pdnonline.com/2017/07/14/47320/

Minami, Noritaka. “DDUs (2016).” Free Association Magazine Spring Issue #4, June 2017.

Pala, Andrea. “1972.” Espacios Habitados. June 16, 2017. http://espacioshabitados.com/1972-2/

Zilli, Enrico. “The Iconic and Neglected Nakagin Capsule Tower.” ArchiPanic. April 28, 2017. http://www.archipanic.com/tokyo-capsule-hotels/

“Syngenta Photography Award 2016-17 Exhibition.” The Guardian. March 1, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2017/mar/01/syngenta-photography-award-2016-17-exhibition-in-pictures

Cartee, Hali. “Histories and Memories National Juried Exhibit Awards Announced.” Indiana University East. January 27, 2017. https://www.iue.edu/news/histories-and-memories-national-juried-exhibit-awards-announced/

2016 World & Homeland: China Pingyao International Photography Festival. Pingyao, China: Pingyao International Photography Festival, 2016.

Museum of Contemporary Photography. 2016 Annual Report. Chicago, IL: Columbia College Chicago, 2016.

Yen, David. “1972.” Neocha. December 14, 2016. http://neocha.com/magazine/1-9-7-2/ Blask, Dan. “Noritaka Minami: Visions of a Lost Future.” ArtSake. October 11, 2016. http://artsake.massculturalcouncil.org/noritaka-minami-visions-of-a-lost-future/

Cavaliero, Sophie and Douniau, Valérie. “Une Saison Japonaise.” Fisheye Magazine, May 2016.

Biryukova, Vera. “The World’s First Capsule Residence.” Esquire Magazine Russia. May 23, 2016. https://esquire.ru/articles/8208-1972-zuksd/

Arena, Gianpaolo. “Noritaka Minami - Nakagin Capsule Tower.” Landscape Stories. March 2016. http://magazine.landscapestories.net/en/books/book-reviews/noritaka-minami

Chiorino, Cristina. “Tokyo 1972.” Icon Design, March 2016.

Minami, Noritaka. “Skybreak (2012 – 2016).” Free Association Magazine Spring, Issue #2, March 2016.

O’Keefe, Don. “Recurring Views of Tokyo’s Utopian Dream.” The Japan Times (Tokyo, Japan), March 13, 2016.

“Raus Aus Der Turnhalle.” K.WEST Ausgabe 2/2016, January 2016.

Yamauchi, Hiroyasu. “People.” Asahi Camera, January 2016.

9 of 12 Andrews, Blake. “Book Review: 1972.” Photo-Eye. January 14, 2016. http://blog.photoeye.com/2016/01/book-review-1972.html

2015 Cornell, Michaela, Janus, Andrea, and Wallace, Doug. Flash Forward 2015. Toronto, Canada: Magenta Foundation, 2015.

Torruella Leval, Susana. Music in the Woods: One Hundred Years of Maverick Concerts. Woodstock, NY: Woodstock Artists Association & Museum, 2015.

Algera, Kristen. “Radical Windows.” MacGuffun, Issue No. 2 Winter 2015/2016, December 2015.

Alederson, Rob. “Retro Futurism.” British Journal of Photography, November 2015.

Shirabe, Bunemi. “Shashinkaiwai Patrol.” Nippon Camera, November 2015.

“Nakagin Capsule Tower Book Release.” TO Web. November 28, 2015. http://tomagazine.jp/event/1999/

“Die Top Ten des DAM 2015.” xia Intelligente Architektur Issue 93, October 2015.

Hamdorf, Laura. “The Future Issue.” Loved & Found, October 2015.

Rosenberg, David. “These Amazingly Small Concrete Homes Are Like Japanese Time Capsules.” Slate, October 16, 2015. http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2015/10/16/noritaka_minami_s_1972_a_look_inside_tokyo_s_nakagin_capsule_tower_p hotos.html

Minami, Noritaka. “Leben in der Minikapsel.” KULTURAUSTAUSCH IV/2015 (September 2015): 13.

Tolan, Casey. “Inside the Crumbling Tokyo Apartment Building That’s a 1970s Vision of the Future.” SPLINTER. September 3, 2015. https://splinternews.com/inside-the-crumbling-tokyo-apartment-building-thats-a-1-1793850524

Hohmann, Silke. “Bücher: Short Cuts.” Monopol, August 2015.

“Wohnwaben.” Kleine Zeitung (Graz, Austria), August 8, 2015.

Smart, Paul. “The Art of the Maverick.” Woodstock Times. July 23, 2015. http://www.woodstockx.com/2015/07/23/the-art-of-the-maverick/

Freeney, Mark. “The Jury is In: Tokyo Interiors at Griffin Museum.” Boston Globe. July 17, 2015. https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-art/2015/07/17/the-jury-tokyo-interiors-griffin- museum/F8oOAUpzoMZHU8n16EOrzL/story.html

Spring, Elin. “JOY!” What Will You Remember? July 16, 2015. https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/21st-juried-show-at-griffin-museum-of-photography/

Zimmermann, Damian. “Fotografie: Keine Ahung.” Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (Cologne, Germany), July 3, 2015. Mahon, Conor. “Photo essay: 1972 – The Nakagin Tower Complex.” PORT. May 14, 2015. http://www.port-magazine.com/architecture/photo-essay-1972-the-nakagin-tower-complex/

2014 Pierce, Ethan. Departure (exhibition catalog). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Monday Gallery: 2014.

“THE FENCE: Noritaka Minami.” World Photography Organisation. October 26, 2014.

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Minami, Noritaka and Yoshida, Ken. “Future Anterior.” Asian American Literary Review Volume 5, Issue 1 (April 2014): 60 – 68.

2013 New England Photography Biennial. Framingham, MA: Danforth Art Museum, 2013.

Yoshida, Ken. Future Anterior: Selected Works from “1972”. Merced, CA: UC Merced Art Gallery, 2013.

Frey, David Andrew. “Fall 2013 New Artists Feature.” Culturehall. December 2013.

Louisiana State University. “Winter 2013 Issue 4.1.” New Delta Review. December 2013. http://ndrmag.org/uncategorized/2013/12/issue-4-1/

D'Ascenzi, Giovanna. “L’avanguardia Dimenticata”. Internazionale. November 2013. https://www.internazionale.it/foto/2013/11/05/lavanguardia-dimenticata

Hurst, Marcus. “El futuro metabolista que nunca llegó.” Yorokobu Magazine. October 3, 2013. https://www.yorokobu.es/edificioos/

Milshtein, Liron. “Japanese Legend: A Glimpse of the First Capsule Tower.” MAKO. October 3, 2013.

Bierend, Doug. “This Pod Apartment of 1972 Offers a Glimpse at the Future That Never Was.” WIRED Raw File. September 30, 2013. https://www.wired.com/2013/09/this-pod-hotel-of-1972-offers-a-glimpse-at-the-future-that-never-was/

Ecker, Shana. “Tokyo Micro Apartment Photographs Capture The Beginning Of 'Tiny Home' Movement.” The Huffington Post. September 29, 2013. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tokyo-micro-apartment-photos_n_4012788

Alcorn, Stan. “These Photos Of Tiny, Futuristic Japanese Apartments Show How Micro Micro-Apartments Can Be.” Fast Company. September 25, 2013. https://www.fastcompany.com/3017659/these-photos-of-tiny-futuristic-japanese-apartments-show-how-micro-micro- apartments-can-be Keutner, Julia. “1972 by Noritaka Minami.” YYST. September 19, 2013. http://www.yesterdayyousaidtomorrow.de/tag/1972

Hügerich, Reinhold. “Ein Mensch pro Behälter.” Zeit Online. September 16, 2013. https://www.zeit.de/kultur/2013-09/fs-minami-kurokawa-tokio

Edwards, Hannah. “1972 von Noritaka Minami.” iGNANT. September 5, 2013.

Pollman, Sarah. “Noritaka Minami.” Aint-Bad Magazine. January 9, 2013. https://www.aint-bad.com/article/2013/01/09/sarah-pollman/

2012 Santos, Dorothy. “Movement in Many Parts.” Art Practical. September 25, 2012. https://www.artpractical.com/review/movement_in_many_parts/

2011 The Art of Photography exhibition catalog. San Diego, CA: Steven Churchill, 2011.

GLAMFA 2011 exhibition catalog. Long Beach, CA: California State University, Long Beach Fine Arts Roundtable, 2011.

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Noma, Taketoshi. “Life in a 10 Square Meter Capsule.” Sankei Digital: iza. December 27, 2011. http://www.iza.ne.jp/news/newsarticle/living/household/539973/

Spiker, Christina. “At the Limits of Visibility: Noritaka Minami's Past Won't Pass (Catalog #52).” Octopus Journal. October 2011. http://www.theoctopusjournal.org/volume-5/

Carson, Juli. “What Remains.” Nothing Comes From Nothing exhibition catalog. Los Angeles, CA: Las Cienegas Projects, 2011.

Tuck, Geoff. “UCI at LCP.” Notes on Looking. August 19, 2011. 2010 Jee, Nikki. “Rainbow Festival 2010.” New University. November 9, 2010. https://www.newuniversity.org/2010/11/09/rainbow-festival-2010/

Aranda, Rebecca. “Ground Control.” New University. February 23, 2010. https://www.newuniversity.org/2010/02/23/ground-control/

2009 Cooke, Erica. Wight Themed Biennial: Without exhibition catalog. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA New Wight Gallery, 2009.

2008 Foster, Selene. Insider/Outsider exhibition catalog. San Francisco, CA: Root Division, 2008.

Chau, Mary. “Handmade Landscapes.” NY Arts Magazine. November 2008.

12 of 12 SGN: On the Utility Poles of Ho Chi Minh City

Essay and photographs by Noritaka Minami

Since its introduction in the first half of the nineteenth century, the photographic medium is intimately intertwined with the work of recording the appearance and disappearance of sites and sights within the built environment. This starts from the very beginning of its history when the advent of this new technology coincided with the development of new urban landscapes across the world. The city was in fact the subject of one of the earliest photographic images. Widely recognized as the first photograph to include the representation of a human being, Louis Daguerre’s Boulevard du Temple (1838) is also significant in that it captured an image of Paris that would soon be radically altered by Baron Haussmann’s “renovation.” This view photographed by Daguerre from the window of his studio was the appearance of a city before its disappearance.

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, View of Boulevard du Temple, circa 1838. Courtesy of the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, Germany.

Photography in cities during the nineteenth century inevitably led to the creation of a visual archive of various changes that took place, including industrial and technological innovations that emerged in the landscape. A sight that begins to appear in photographs of cities from this period is the infrastructure that came with the establishment of the then new electrical and telecommunication services. The Brown Brothers’ photograph taken around Wall Street in New York City following the Great Blizzard of 1888 shows a dense web of wires suspended across a disjointed series of utility poles. This photograph is evidence of the rapid and disorganized growth of public utilities during this period of modernization in New York City. It is also another example of a photograph that captures the appearance of a sight before its disappearance. Not long after this image was taken, the wires were buried below the ground and out of sight as the crippling effects of the “Great White Hurricane” led to greater regulations over the installation of electrical and telephone wires.1 Utility poles only had a brief existence in this urban center of New York City.

Brown Brothers, New Street looking toward Wall Street, Blizzard of 1888, 1888. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.

This photograph by the Brown Brothers is one of countless examples from the history of photography that exemplify the role the medium has played in documenting the changes experienced in a city and the sites/sights that are lost through the cycles of updates to its landscape. This image from 1888 is particularly noteworthy for me as a photographer because it serves as a precedent for my own work today with its treatment of what is commonly an overlooked presence in the built environment: the utility pole.

Postcard of Saigon (Boulevard Charner), circa early twentieth century. Collection of the artist.

My project titled SGN examines the current state of the oldest utility poles in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam that were originally erected during its time as Saigon, one of the centers of French Indochina (1887–1954). The name of this project is derived from the IATA airport code for the Tan Son Nhat International Airport located inside the city. This airport code was derived from the city’s former name and continues to be used, even though the city was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1975. The code “SGN” remains as a form of anachronism, like the oldest utility poles that continue to be used in the city and are the focus of my recent photographs.

Postcard of Saigon (Electricity Plant), circa early twentieth century. Collection of the artist.

Public utilities in Saigon date back to 1896 when the Société d’Électricité de Saigon (SEVS) was founded to supply electricity to the area. The electrical grid in the region quickly expanded after 1909 when Compagnie des eaux et d’électricité d’Indochine (CEE) bought out SEVS and secured a monopoly of both water and electrical services in Saigon as well as Cholon and Phnom Penh.2

Postcard of Saigon (Palace of the Governor of Cochinchina), circa early twentieth century. Collection of the artist.

References to the history and development of public utilities in Saigon tend to be extremely brief in documents from the early twentieth century that are still available in French or English. A book by the geographer Charles Robequain titled The Economic Development of French Indo-China that was published in 1939 is the rare example that goes beyond a cursory mention of this subject matter and elucidates the rationale behind the development of electricity in this region.

Electricity offers the European population infinite possibilities of increased comfort through various domestic appliances for ventilation, refrigeration, etc. The native and especially the Chinese merchants in the larger cities also find it invaluable.3

Robequain’s account asserts the fact that electricity in Saigon was developed first and foremost out of French colonial interests. Any benefit the local populace would receive from electrification would be secondary.

Postcard of Saigon (Chinese Soup), circa early twentieth century. Collection of the artist.

Postcards of Saigon from the turn of the century indicate that utility poles begin to appear in the landscape following the introduction of electricity to the region. These postcards also reveal that the earliest utility poles in the city were constructed as steel lattice towers. These structures were unlike the utility poles made of lumber that appear in the Brown Brothers’ photograph from 1888 and are still common in many parts of the world. The utility poles in Saigon were the product of modern manufacturing techniques developed over the course of the nineteenth century: prefabrication and assemblage of standardized parts. The expansion of the electrical grid led to the proliferation of identical lattice towers across Saigon.

Postcard of Saigon (Vietnamese Credit Society), circa 1950s. Collection of the artist.

Postcard of Saigon (Morning at the Market), circa 1960s. Collection of the artist.

This basic design would be used for the construction of utility poles for at least the next half-century. Variations of lattice towers were erected by CEE in Saigon through World War II and up to the end of French colonial rule in 1954. They then continued to service the city as it became the capital of the newly established Republic of Vietnam and through the turmoil that engulfed the city with the onset of the Second Indochina War. The public utilities in Saigon were finally absorbed and nationalized in 1975 by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after the reunification of the country.

Photographing the Overlooked: Noritaka Minami on His“California City, California” Series and His Photography Practice

FLXST Contemporary Aug 24, 2020 · 9 min read

Three black and white landscape portraits from the California City, California series (2017) were apart of the group show Material Intentions at FLXST Contemporary in 2020.

PLEASE DESCRIBE HOW YOU ARRIVED AT PHOTOGRAPHY? WHAT ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY DREW YOU TO IT?

As an undergraduate student, I focused primarily on painting and printmaking. Photography didn’t become part of my practice until graduate school. But even before I started to make photographs as “art,” I was drawn by how photographers used the medium to examine architectural spaces, especially overlooked things. The first-ever photobook that caught my attention was Tsuzuki Kyoichi’s Tokyo Style. Another book that left an impression on me early on is Rufina Wu and Stefan Canham’s Portraits from Above: Hong Kong’s Informal Rooftop Communities. I became interested in how the photographers employed photography in these two works. The influence is evident in a project like 1972.

Three photographs from Noritaka Minami’s “California City, California” series (2017) hanging on the wall of FLXST Contemporary, as part of the group show “Material Intentions.” Courtesy of the artist and FLXST Contemporary. THE THREE BLACK AND WHITE PIECES IN THE GROUP SHOW MATERIAL INTENTIONS AT FLXST IS PART OF A LARGER SERIES CALLED CALIFORNIA CITY, CALIFORNIA (2017). THE LANDSCAPES ARE BARREN, EXCEPT FOR THE OUTLINES OF STREETS, A FEW TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. IF WE’RE LUCKY, A NONDESCRIPT BUILT STRUCTURE CAN BE SPOTTED. DESCRIBE THE GENESIS OF THE PROJECT AND THE ATTRACTION TO WHAT APPEARS TO BE A FAILED HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.

There was a proliferation of planned communities in the post-war United States that dramatically altered the landscape and the way people lived, particularly in Southern California. One of the most famous and successful examples from this era is the city of Irvine. I became fascinated with California City because it is another example of a planned community from this period. However, it is now mostly forgotten even to the people living in the state that it is named after. It failed to meet the original grandiose ambition of the real estate developer Nathan Mendelsohn and the aggressively promoted idyllic image that he sold to the public through mass media.

The endless miles of paved streets without any homes is a vivid reminder of the vision that was projected onto the landscape by Mendelsohn and remains unfulfilled to this date. In a way, the site sits suspended in time: clearly designed to host a future city, yet there is no certainty if that city will ever materialize in reality. The development became known for making unsubstantiated claims such as the land having enough concentration of water wells in the entire Mojave Desert to create a “water-rich” wonderland. I think, California City is an important case study that highlights the limits that urban development faces in harsh locations such as the Mojave Desert, especially as the West Coast faces the effects of climate change.

Noritaka Minami, “Tract №3198 #1 (California City, California),” piezography print, 30 45 inches, 2017. Courtesy of the artist and FLXST Contemporary.

THE PHOTOGRAPHS HAVE A DOCUMENTARY FEEL. INTERESTINGLY, THE LANDSCAPE AND HOW THE EMPTY STREETS CREATE SPATIAL PATTERNS ALSO EVOKE ABSTRACT SENSIBILITIES. “DOCUMENTARY ABSTRACTION,” FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, IS QUITE AN OXYMORON! HAVE YOU REFLECTED ON THIS PARTICULAR TENSION IN THE AESTHETICS OF YOUR PORTRAITS? I intended this series as a documentary project on California City. Broadly speaking, the images are “straight photographs” that depict the landscape’s visual appearance without any overt manipulation. However, I think there are subtle details in how I photographed this particular landscape. These details are crucial in making the view not readily apparent to the viewers. I shot the photographs from an aerial vantage point without the sky and the horizon line visible within the frame. This approach flattens the sense of space and denies a figure-ground relationship to make it immediately legible as a landscape. Also, the extensive city grid that is mostly absent of structures doesn’t provide the context to establish a sense of scale, allowing viewers to mistake the streets as graphic lines. The state of the landscape and how it looks evoke a type of abstract sensibility within the photographs. Moreover, this development itself remains a type of abstraction as it perpetually proposes a future city that no one will (most likely) ever build.

Noritaka Minami, “Tract №3195 (California City, California),” piezography print, 30 45 inches, 2017. Courtesy of the artist and FLXST Contemporary.

THERE IS UNDOUBTEDLY A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA CITY AND ITS FAILURE TO THRIVE AS A VIABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT. WHAT ROLE DOES HISTORY PLAY IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE?

Research on the history of a place is integral to my art practice. Knowing the locations’ histories allows me to develop an understanding of how to navigate those spaces. It also enables me to develop strategies for that specific art project. The visual languages that I employed in 1972 and California City, California are very different because the strategy that I took for each project responds to the history of that particular place and its present state. In California City, California series I intentionally wanted to use a photographic language that mirrored the harshness of the landscape and countered the idyllic image that the would-be developers promoted. I wanted to create photographs that deny any possibility of depicting this Western landscape in a romantic manner. Those are some of the reasons I decided to use high-speed black and white film with a pronounced graininess. Noritaka Minami, “Tract №3187 #2 (California City, California),” piezography print, 30 45 inches, 2017. Courtesy of the artist and FLXST Contemporary.

YOU SEEM TO BE INTERESTED IN BUILT ENVIRONMENTS. THE CALIFORNIA CITY, CALIFORNIA SERIES FEELS LIKE A MORE EXPANSIVE EXPLORATION OF HUMAN HABITATION (IN ALL THEIR SUCCESSES OR FAILURES) FOUND IN YOUR MONOGRAPH 1972, Nakagin Capsule Tower IN WHICH YOU EXPLORE THE INTERIOR SPACES OF KISHO KUROKAWA’S NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER IN JAPAN. IS THERE A COMMON THREAD THAT RUNS THROUGH BOTH PROJECTS? WHAT ABOUT THE HUMAN CAPACITY TO BUILD THESE TYPES OF ENVIRONMENTS DRAWS YOU TO PHOTOGRAPH THEM?

Noritaka Minami’s photobook “1972, Nakagin Capsule Tower” (Kehrer Verlag: Heidelberg, Germany, 2015). (l-r) Cover page; interior page: photograph of the Nakagin Capsule Tower; interior page: photographs of interior rooms. Courtesy of the artist.

The construction of the Nakagin Capsule Tower in 1972 is inextricably connected to the 1970 World Exposition held in Osaka, Japan. The overreaching theme that the event promoted was an image of a future in which “progress and harmony for mankind” would be achieved through continued economic growth and technological innovations. Although the Nakagin Capsule Tower and California City development are two different architectural projects situated at very different locations, they resonate similarly as products of an overly optimistic outlook towards the future that emerged from the mid-20th century. Both sites’ designs were based on harnessing technology and industry for expansion into spaces previously uninhabited by man. Over time, it becomes possible to look back at each of these sites with a new perspective. I am interested in using photography to examine how these visions of the future appear in retrospect and also understand the actual future that arrived in reality. AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE LIVING THROUGH STRANGE TIMES AS THE COVID-19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC SHOWS NO SIGNS OF ENDING. HAS COVID-19 AFFECTED YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE OR PERHAPS INFLUENCED YOUR THINKING ABOUT FUTURE PROJECTS?

In the essay that art historian Ken Yoshida wrote for my photobook on the Nakagin Capsule Tower, he makes an important observation that the architectural movement Metabolism, which gave birth to the iconic building, was founded on the premise of finding more effective means of sheltering people in the aftermath of World War II. Architectural critic Noboru Kawazoe, who was instrumental in organizing the Metabolism, proposed a sanctuary that would shield the population from a nuclear disaster. Kisho Kurokawa’s career began with a speculative proposal called “Agricultural City” that he designed in response to Typhoon Vera in 1959, which resulted in more than 5,000 deaths. Even though Metabolism is often associated with utopian images, the specters of recent catastrophes and future threats influenced the movement.

I think this part of Metabolism’s history is very interesting and is relevant for me in thinking about this pandemic and other crises related to society and the environment. The current situation has reinforced the idea that architecture could be an expression of a shelter against real and imagined threats. I wonder about the types of architecture that will result from this period of uncertainty in the United States and the broader global society. What kind of materials and designs will be employed in creating new demarcations of spaces? I think the challenge is to carefully observe and document changes that may not necessarily be apparent but are, in fact, significant.

WILL WE GET TO SEE NEW PROJECTS FROM YOU LATER IN THE YEAR FOR YOUR SOLO SHOW AT FLXST? IF SO, CAN YOU GIVE US A GLIMPSE OF WHAT WE MIGHT GET TO SEE?

The show will consist of photographs taken in 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, that document the current state of the steel lattice towers that were first erected by the French as utility poles during the early twentieth century to facilitate the development of the Indochinese Union. The project examines these overlooked remnants of French colonialism in the contemporary landscape of Ho Chi Minh City. The structures represent the region’s historical trajectory as it evolved from one of the centers of the French colonial empire in Southeast Asia to the economic engine of an independent and developing nation attempting to merge socialism with global capitalism.

NORITAKA MINAMI is an artist based in Chicago. Minami uses photography to examine spaces that exist as anachronisms in the landscape and are overlooked for their significances in understanding contemporary society. He is interested in the photographic medium’s potential to not only document the physical appearance of sites but also explore and reflect on the underlying presence of histories and ideologies of those spaces by the way they are transformed into still images. He received an M.F.A. in Studio Art from the University of California, Irvine, and a B.A. in Art Practice from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a recipient of grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Santo Foundation, and Center for Cultural Innovation. In 2015, Kehrer Verlag published his monograph titled 1972 — Nakagin Capsule Tower, which received the 2015 Architectural Book Award from the Deutsches Architekturmuseum in Frankfurt, Germany. Solo exhibitions of his works have been held at Kana Kawanishi Gallery, SFO Museum, USC Roski School of Art and Design, UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design, UC Merced Art Gallery, and Griffin Museum of Photography. He has also participated in group exhibitions at the Aperture Foundation, Somerset House, Photo Basel, Las Cienegas Projects, New Wight Gallery, and Kearney Street Workshop. Minami’s works are held in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, UCLA Architecture and Urban Design, Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago, and Center for Photography at Woodstock.

He is currently an Assistant Professor of Photography at Loyola University Chicago. He has also taught photography at Harvard University, Wellesley College, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, UC Berkeley, and UC Irvine.

FLXST Contemporary is a contemporary fine arts and photography gallery and an arts incubator in Chicago. It showcases highly-evocative and uncompromising artwork by emerging and mid-career artists; and it supports the creation and exhibition of new artwork across visual mediums. FLXST Contemporary works with and represents mainly diasporic im/migrant artists, LGBTQ-identified artists, and artists of color based in Chicago and in other parts of the country.

FLXST Contemporary exhibited the group show Material Intentions from August 1 to August 30, 2010. The show included Alexander Hernandez, Renluka Maharaj Noritaka Minami, Moises Salazar, Cristina Victor

Noritaka Minami Flxst Contemporary Photography Interview Architecture Photography

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Despite the passage of time, changes in regimes, and transformations with the urban landscape, a significant number of these lattice towers from the first half of the twentieth century endured in what is now officially called Ho Chi Minh City. Furthermore, they continue to be used into the twenty-first century in a country that is in midst of rapid socioeconomic changes. The developments that have occurred in Vietnamese society in recent decades have also led to these lattice towers becoming an extraordinary sight. Many of these structures are now overwhelmed with countless wires tethered to a variety of electrical and telecommunication networks. The overwhelming number of wires now supported by these obsolete utility poles far exceed the original capacity of their design. As a result, each one has morphed into a unique, sculpture-like object.

The accumulation on these lattice towers represents the rapid economic and population growths of the recent decades. They are the product of the transformation this nation has experienced since reforms were initiated in 1986 with Đổi Mới (Renovation) in order to steer the country from a command economy to what is described as a “socialist-oriented market economy.” Now deeply integrated with the global market, Vietnam has one of the fastest growing economies in the region. The national population also has increased from about 60 million to 96.5 million since 1986.4 The volume of wires on the lattice towers points to the increasing importance of networks that link a country that once faced international isolation from a larger global society and economy.

These remnants of French colonialism that remain in the contemporary landscape of Ho Chi Minh City are mostly overlooked as they are anonymous structures of civil engineering, originally installed to serve the practical needs of a city. As a ubiquitous presence in this built environment for over a century, they are normally passed unnoticed by the constant flow of traffic on the streets. When they are brought up in a conversation, some residents even view them as an undesirable artifact from the past that contradicts the project of modernization the nation is currently undertaking in its attempt to create the socialist-oriented market economy.

Yet, I believe the significance of these lattice towers could be revealed by capturing them as photographs right now. Their historical origin and current state provide an insight to the historical trajectory of the city as it evolved from one of the centers of the French colonial empire in Southeast Asia to the economic engine of an independent and developing nation attempting to merge socialism with global capitalism.

Moreover, this question of documenting the lattice towers has taken on a sense of urgency as they are gradually being removed as part of the renewal of the city’s landscape for the twenty-first century economy. The wires previously supported by the lattice towers are beginning to be buried underground and out of sight, repeating the process carried out around the urban center of New York City over a century ago. Stripped of the wires, some of the lattice towers now stand in the landscape without function, an unintended monument that simultaneously points to the city’s past and the changes that are in motion for a city to come. These towers that are no longer in use will also inevitably be removed in the name of progress.

As a still image, a photograph has the ability to make visible various layers of accumulation on these structures: rust, coats of paint, dents, cracks, repairs, modifications, wires recently installed, and traces of wires taken out of commission long ago. These marks point to the time accrued on these structures as they stood over the series of events that took place is this landscape over the course of a century. The fact that they were in service for all of these years and continue to be used into the twenty-first century completely defies their expected service life.

Upon closer examination, the photographs also show the informal ways these structures came to be used in the daily lives of people in addition to facilitating the electrical and telecommunication demands of the city. The upper half of many lattice towers were retroactively employed as a support for newer streetlights. Neighboring businesses started to use the lower half of lattice tower as storage space or to hang advertising for the latest consumer products. Objects strategically placed by the concrete base (water buckets, bottles, bricks, tires covered in foil) indicate the roadside service set up by the lattice tower that offers fuel and repair for scooters.5 The local residents ultimately found practical uses for these structures that went beyond the original intent of the colonial administration.

The final passing of these lattice towers from the landscape could signal the arrival of a radically different space in Ho Chi Minh City. The significance of these oldest utility poles and their complicated legacy may become clearer when they are no longer there at the sites but still exist as photographic images that one could look back and reflect at their sights.

Endnotes

1. Frederick N. Rasmussen, “In late 1800s, New York City buried wires after a natural disaster,” The Baltimore Sun, July 12, 2012. ↵

2. Tim Doling, “Icons of Old Saigon–The Electricity Building, 1896,” Historic Vietnam, February 16, 2015, http://www.historicvietnam.com/electricity-building. ↵

3. Charles Robequain, The Economic Development of French Indo-China (London: Oxford University Press: 1944), 286. ↵

4. “The World Bank In Vietnam,” October 6, 2020, The World Bank, https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/vietnam/overview. ↵

5. Annette Miae Kim, Sidewalk City, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press: 2015), 1. ↵

Exhibition

An exhibition of photographs from this project will be held at FLXST Contemporary in Chicago from January 9 to February 14, 2021. For more information, please visit the gallery website.

Noritaka Minami is a Chicago-based artist who uses photography to examine spaces that exist as anachronisms in the landscape and are overlooked for their significances in understanding contemporary society. He is a recipient of grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Santo Foundation, and Center for Cultural Innovation. In 2015, Kehrer Verlag published his monograph titled 1972–Nakagin Capsule Tower, which received the 2015 Architectural Book Award from the Deutsches Architekturmuseum in Frankfurt, Germany. Minami’s works are held in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, UCLA Architecture and Urban Design, Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago, and Center for Photography at Woodstock. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Photography at Loyola University Chicago. www.noritakaminami.com