Mitsutoshi HANAGA The documentation photograph of the Japanese avant-garde art and performance (1964 – 1973)

Tatsushi Omori (Film director. The Ravine of Goodbye (2013))

Aoyama Meguro is pleased to announce the introduction of work by Mitsutoshi Hanaga (1933-1999) for the second time since last year’s Art Fair Tokyo.

Most notable for his photographic documentations of Hi-Red Center (Jiro Takamatsu, Genpei Akasegawa, Natsuyuki Nakanishi), Tetsumi Kudo, Ushio Shinohara, Akaji Maro (Dairakudakan) and many others, Hanaga’s work has been attracting attention in recent years. This exhibition will mainly center on Hanaga’s photographic records of outdoor performances by avant-garde artists.

The statement below is cited from Mitsutoshi Hanaga’s official website.

Throughout his life, Mitsutoshi Hanaga had always worked closely with the creators on-site, and had become the firsthand witness of artistic production. Many of his legendary photographs are considered today as a valuable work, and they have been shown in numerous museums. This exhibition will showcase over 200 photographs, including many unpublished prints, and it will again serve as an opportunity to investigate its content.

(other photographic documentations to be exhibited. Names listed in random order, titles omitted.)

Ay-o, Tadanori Yokoo, Kikuji Yamashita, Sankichi Ota, Shintaro Tanaka, Shoumei Thomatsu, Junzo Ishiko, Mono-ha, Katsuhiro Yamaguchi, Koshin Sakurai, Keiichiro Sakuma, Shinzaburo Okamoto, Michio Fukuoka, Minoru Kinjo, Bikky Sunazawa, Koujin Toneyama, Shimon Yotsuya, Kanji Itoi (Dadakan), Sawako Goda, Kuniyoshi Kaneko, Tenjo Sajiki, Shuji Terayama, Juro Kara, Jokyo Gekijo, Arata Isozaki, Shuzo Takiguchi, Junzaburo Nishiwaki, Ichiro Hariu, Tamon Miki, MOON Seung-Keun, Shuzo Takiguchi, Aiko Miyawaki, Yutaka Matsuzawa, Zero Jigen, Yutokutaishi Akiyama, Testuo Koyama, GUN, Ushio Shinohara, Masunobu Yoshimura, Tatsumi Yoshino, Shuzo Azuchi Gulliver, Mitsutaka Ishii, Yasunao Tone, Sho Kazakura, Keigo Yamamoto, Taj Mahal Travelers, Yoshida Yoshie, Kokuin, Kenji Kanasaka, Rikuro Miyai, Yayoi Kusama, Kurohata and more, still under investigation.