Hiroji Kubota Photographer

HIROJI KUBOTA PHOTOGRAPHER

GALLERY MISSION Established in 2000, Sundaram Tagore Gallery is devoted to examining the exchange of ideas between Western and non-Western cultures. We focus on developing exhibitions and hosting not-for-profit events that encourage spiritual, social and aesthetic dialogues. In a world where communication is instant and cultures are colliding and melding as never before, our goal is to provide venues for art that transcend boundaries of all sorts. With alliances across the globe, our interest in cross-cultural exchange extends beyond the visual arts into many other disciplines, including poetry, literature, performance art, film and music.

HIROJI KUBOTA PHOTOGRAPHER

Sundaram Tagore Singapore is pleased to present a beauty and honor in human experience. He was retrospective of iconic images by renowned Magnum born in Tokyo in 1939 and began his career assisting photographer Hiroji Kubota. More than one hundred Magnum photographers René Burri, Burt Glinn and of the artist’s images will be on view, including color Elliott Erwitt on their visit to Japan in 1961 before dye-transfer prints photographed between 1978 and becoming a Magnum photographer himself. Over a 2003 and black-and-white platinum prints from 1961 span of more than five decades, he produced major to 1989. Kubota traveled the globe to capture historic bodies of work on the United States, Japan, China, events and gained rare access to countries including North and South Korea and Southeast Asia. North Korea and China in the 1970s when travel was still restricted. His images range from meditative Hiroji Kubota was introduced to the dye-transfer scenes of Burmese monks by Myanmar’s sacred printing process at the urging of a friend in the late golden rock to candid portraits of North Korean 1980s. This costly and complicated process used to youth learning to sing. create high-quality multi-color materials for print advertising was mostly phased out by the 1960s, but a Rooted in his experience of Japan, ravaged by few printers who continued to use it for photographic destruction and famine at the end of World War II, art. One of those printers, Nino Mondhe—who printed Kubota’s work is characterized by a desire to find for Irving Penn and Harry Callahan—was known for

Dongshan, Jiangsu, China, 1981, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm 7 using twelve colors instead of the traditional three. with the release of Hiroji Kubota Photographer Kubota, dazzled by the spectrum of vibrant color (Aperture, 2015), the first comprehensive survey of Mondhe achieved, produced fifty-two prints and the artist’s work covering more than fifty years of his two triptychs with the master printer over a twenty- extraordinary life and world travels. The book includes year period, until the materials ran out and Mondhe all his key bodies of work, including photographs eventually closed his studio. This exhibition offers an from his many extended trips throughout China, extraordinary opportunity to view Kubota’s collection Burma, the United States, North and South Korea of color images produced with a rarely used technique and his home country, Japan. that is impossible to duplicate today. Kubota’s work has been exhibited around the world, Hiroji Kubota’s numerous publications include China including at the International Center of Photography, (1985), From Sea to Shining Sea: A Portrait of America New York; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, (1992), Out of the East: Transition and Tradition in D.C.; Tokyo Photographic Art Museum; and CAFA Asia (1997) and Japan (2004). In 2015, the Aperture Art Museum, Beijing. He is based in Odawara, Japan. Foundation organized a retrospective for the artist in partnership with Sundaram Tagore Gallery New York. The show was presented in conjunction

8 9 Kyaiktiyo, Burma, 1978, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

10 11 Pagan, Burma, 1986, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

12 13 Phaung Daw U pagoda festival, Inle, Burma, 1979, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

14 15 Boy and girl in front of the Mandalay Hill, Burma, 1978, dye-transfer print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

16 17 Mandalay, Burma, 1978, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

18 19 Visitors to the holiest temple, Jokhang, on Tibetan New Year’s Day, Lhasa, Tibet, 1981, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61cm

20 Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet, 1981, dye-transfer print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

21 The city market, Kota Bharu, near Thailand, Malaysia, 1997, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

22 23 The end of Ramadan prayers, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 1997, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

24 25 Hindu festival, Bali, Indonesia, 1996, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

26 27 A mass game to celebrate Kim Il-sung’s birthday at the hundred-thousand-seat Kim Il-sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea, 1982, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

28 29 The Torch Parade at Kim Il-sung Square to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army, Pyongyang, North Korea, 1992, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm 30 31 At the Kim Chaek Ironworks; the billboard shows Kim Il-sung peering into a furnace, Chongjin, North Korea, 1986, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

32 33 Celebration of Kim Il-sung’s seventy-fifth birthday, Pyongyang, North Korea, 1982, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

34 35 Aerial of Guilin, China, 1980, dye-transfer print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

36 Li River, Guilin, China, 1979, dye transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61cm

37 Guilin, China, 1980, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61cm

38 39 Old Forbidden City, Shenyang, China, 1981, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

40 Morning commuters, Jilin, China, 1982, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

41 Bayan Ul Hot, Inner Mongolia, China, 1982, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

42 43 Bayan Ul Hot, Inner Mongolia, China, 1982, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

44 45 A guardian of Imperial tomb, Henan, China, 1982, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

46 47 Xishuangbanna, a region close to Burma; the Burmese influence is visible. Yunnan, China, 1982, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

48 49 Dali, Yunnan, China, 1982, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

50 51 Anshan Steel Mill, at the time the largest steel mill in the country, Liaoning, China, 1981, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

52 53 Kashgar, Xinjiang, China, 1980, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

54 55 Qingming Festival, Hangzhou, China, 1983, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

56 57 Qingdao, Shandong, China, 1981, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

58 59 Terra-cotta horses and soldiers from the Qin dynasty, Xi’an, China, 1985, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

60 61 Plucking hairs with twine, a traditional way of removing women’s facial hair, Xincun, Hainan, China, 1984, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

62 63 Nanchang, Jiangxi, China, 1983, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

64 65 A stone bridge over the Grand Canal, Tangqi, Zhejiang, China, 1982, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

66 67 A view of Tiananmen Square on National Day, Beijing, October 1, 1984, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

68 69 Russia Orthodox Church, Harbin, China, 1981, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

70 Card playing, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 1983, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

71 Guilin, China, 1980, dye-transfer print, 20 x 72 inches/50.8 x 183 cm

72 73 Old kimonos made of tsumugi or pongee silk in Shiozawa are returned there every fifty years or so to bring back the original colors. To get the maximum effect, the unassembled pieces are dried over snow under blue sky, Shiozawa, Niigata, Japan, 74 2003, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm 75 Kashihara Shrine, Nara, Japan, 2002, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

76 77 “Izaiho” ritual, Kudaka Island, Okinawa, Japan, 1978, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

78 Imperial funeral procession of the late Emperor Hirohito, Tokyo, 1989, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

79 Gion festival, Kyoto, Japan, 2001, dye-transfer print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

80 81 Muro-ji Temple, Nara, Japan, 2002, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

82 Marching in formation by the Senshugakuin seminary at the Koyasan temple, Wakayama, Japan, 2001, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

83 Tsurui, “crane village,” Hokkaido, Japan, 2002, dye-transfer print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

84 85 Golden tearoom, Fushimi Momoyama Castle, Kyoto, Japan, 2001, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

86 The steep steps to the Taikodani-Inari shrine, Tsuwano, Shimane, Japan, 2003, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

87 Soma-Namaoi samurai festival, Fukushima, Japan, 2003, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

88 89 Monument Vallery Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona, 1989, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

90 91 Yellowstone National Park after a huge forest fire, Wyoming, 1989, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

92 93 Native Americans march on the hundredth anniversary of the massacre of the Sioux tribe by the United States cavalry, Wounded Knee, South Dakota, 1990, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

94 95 Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, 1990, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

96 Spring break, South Padre Island near Mexico, Texas, 1990, dye transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

97 New York City, 1992, dye-transfer print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

98 99 March on Washington, Washington DC, 1963, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

100 101 Debutantes at a Chicago hotel ballroom, 1964, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

102 Jackson, Mississippi, 1969, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

103 Black Panthers, Chicago, 1969, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

104 Hippies in Southern California, 1971, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

105 Okinawa, 1969, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

106 Sanja festival participants in the Asakusa district, Tokyo, 1967, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

107 A private bridal school, Fujisawa, west of Tokyo, Japan, 1966, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

108 109 Pyongyang, North Korea, 1978, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

110 Red Fort, Delhi, India, 1976, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

111 Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1968, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

112 Bhaktapur, Nepal, 1972, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

113 Bhaktapur, Nepal, 1972, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

114 115 Shanghai, 1979, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

116 Shanghai, 1979, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

117 Bangkok, Thailand, 1976, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

118 Mae Hong Son, border with Burma, Thailand, 1977, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

119 Zahara, Spain, 1968, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

120 The Arans, Ireland, 1972, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

121 Amman, Jordan, 1968, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

122 Greek Orthodox Christians, Old City, Jerusalem, 1970, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

123 US Army training dogs in Okinawa, Japan, 1969, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

124 Eskimo village, Point Lay, Alaska, 1975, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

125 Mandalay, Burma, 1977, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

126 Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, USA, 1969, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

127 Pow wow, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1973, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

128 A Harlem boy, New York, 1967, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

129 Rausu, Shiretoko, Hokkaido, Japan, 1961, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

130 Shinichi Suzuki and his students, Matsumoto, Japan, 1967, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

131 Yoron Island, Kagoshima, Japan, 1961, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

132 Okinawa, Japan, 1969, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

133 Yoron Island, Kagoshima, Japan, 1961, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

134 Beijing, 1978, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

135 Hong Kong, 1971, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

136 Mandalay, Burma, 1977, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

137 Mandalay, Burma, 1977, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

138 Bangkok, Thailand, 1976, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

139 Varanasi, India, 1968, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

140 Calcutta, India, 1970, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

141 Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1968, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

142 The Arans, Ireland, 1972, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

143 Zahara, Spain, 1968, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

144 Old City, Jerusalem, 1970, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

145 Istanbul, Turkey, 1970, platinum print, 24 x 20 inches/61 x 50.8 cm

146 Xuan Loc, just before the fall of Saigon, 1975, platinum print, 20 x 24 inches/50.8 x 61 cm

147 The Gobi Desert, Turpan, China, 1983, platinum print, 30 x 44 inches/76.2 x 111.8 cm

148 149 Bayon, Angkor, Cambodia, 1997, platinum print, 30 x 44 inches/76.2 x 111.8 cm

150 151 Aerial view of Manhattan, New York, 1989, platinum print, 30 x 44 inches/76.2 x 111.8 cm

152 153 Pagan, Burma, 1979, platinum print, 30 x 44 inches/76.2 x 111.8 cm

154 155 SUNDARAM TAGORE GALLERIES new york 547 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001 tel 212 677 4520 • [email protected]

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President and curator: Sundaram Tagore Director, New York: Susan McCaffrey Director, Hong Kong: Faina Derman Sales director, Singapore: Melanie Taylor Exhibition coordinator/registrar: Julia Occhiogrosso Designer: Russell Whitehead Editorial support: Payal Uttam and Kieran Doherty

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