josef chladek

on photobooks and books

Mao Ishikawa - Life in Philly, Zen Foto Gallery, 2010, Tokyo

Softcover, with an introduction by Ishikawa, an excerpt from an essay by Shomei Tomatsu about Ishikawa, and text pieces about the photographs by Keisuke Takeuchi, both Japanese and English. Signed. Edition of 1000.

Shot over a two-month period in 1986 in inner-city Philadelphia, Life in Philly is Okinawan photographer Mao Ishikawa's record of the time she spent visiting the ex-G.I. she befriended while working in the nightclub district in Okinawa's Koza section. At the time, upon returning to Japan and looking over the prints, she thought they were nothing special. Fortunately, upon relooking at them 23 years later, Ishikawa now realizes she captured something very special indeed.Writes Ishikawa in the book's introduction:I don't know how I managed to take photos of all the various scenes, which are all so very natural. In every one of them, everyone is unselfconsciously themselves and they are unabashed by my presence. You don't get many photos like these. Even I was impressed!

Order at japanexposures.com.

Pages: 64
Place: Tokyo
Year: 2010
Publisher: Zen Foto Gallery
Size: 26 x 36 cm (approx.)