Index I & II
Project description
Index I & II were two solo exhibitions of the work of photographer Shigeo Anzaï at White Rainbow in Fitzrovia, London. The exhibitions examined Anzaï’s role as a witness to landmark exhibitions, events and happenings within the Japanese avant-garde during the 1970s, with particular attention to the 10th Tokyo Biennale of 1970.
Index I, held from 25 November 2015 to 23 January 2016, focused on Anzaï’s documentation of significant exhibitions and artistic events. Index II, presented in May and June 2016, explored his portraits of artists encountered throughout his career, including David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Nam June Paik and Joseph Beuys. Together, the exhibitions represented Anzaï’s photographic archive as an important record of post-war Japanese and international contemporary art.
Anzaï began his artistic practice as a painter before turning to photography in the late 1960s. Over the following decades, he documented artists and their work in Japan and internationally, producing more than 3,000 photographs. He became particularly associated with Mono-ha, the influential Japanese movement whose artists explored the interdependence of natural and industrial materials through often ephemeral installations.
Anzaï’s involvement with the 10th Tokyo Biennale was particularly significant. Appointed by critic Yusuke Nakahara to assist Carl Andre, Daniel Buren and Richard Serra, he documented their performances, happenings and installations. Many of these works survive today primarily through photographic documentation or later reconstructions.
The 10th Tokyo Biennale, titled Between Man and Matter, brought artists associated with Mono-ha, including Jiro Takamatsu and Kishio Suga, into dialogue with international artists such as Klaus Rinke and Christo. Anzaï’s photographs provide an important index of this encounter, recording a moment when Japanese contemporary art engaged directly with international avant-garde practices.
Through Anzaï’s photographs, Index I & II considers the role of photographic documentation in shaping art historical memory. His archive offers a record of exhibitions and works that were often temporary or ephemeral, while tracing the connections between Japanese and international artistic movements during a period of significant cultural exchange.
Bio
Shigeo Anzaï is a renowned Japanese photographer whose practice has focused on documenting artists, exhibitions, performances and events in Japan and internationally. Beginning his artistic career as a painter, he moved into photography in the late 1960s and went on to build an extensive archive of contemporary art.
Anzaï is particularly recognised for his documentation of Mono-ha and for his photographs of artists including Carl Andre, Daniel Buren, Richard Serra, David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Nam June Paik and Joseph Beuys. His photographs provide an important visual record of Japanese avant-garde art and its encounters with international contemporary art movements.
Project details
Year: 2015-2016
Artist: Shigeo Anzaï
Exhibitions: Index I; Index II
Venue: White Rainbow, Fitzrovia, London
Index I: 25 November 2015 – 23 January 2016
Index II: May – June 2016
Catalogue essay: Dr. Yasufumi Nakamori, Associate Curator, Photography, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Country: United Kingdom