Exhibition Review: "Tokuko Ushioda Photo Exhibition: Eternal Lesson" and "Yokohama City Camera and Photography Collection Exhibition: The Distance Around Photography" @ Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino

I visited the "Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino" for the first time, and it was better than I expected. The number of exhibits was substantial, and above all, it is amazing that it is high quality and free. If you have never been, please try to visit at least once.

"Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino" is about a 10-minute walk from Azamino Station on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line. At first glance, the building gives the impression of a "we built a community space, ta-da" type of facility. Inside, there are various events, spaces for lessons, and study areas for students, making it feel like a high-class community center.
It has a high number of users, and it seems to be well-utilized by those who know about it.

Different exhibitions are held in the exhibition rooms on the first and second floors, and the exhibition periods for the ones held at this time were the same.

The first floor features "Tokuko Ushioda Photo Exhibition: Eternal Lesson." I learned about Tokuko Ushioda for the first time, but it seems she learned photography from Yasuhiro Ishimoto and Kiyoji Otsuji during her time at the Kuwasawa Design School. At the time, she was given the task of calling out to people on the street and taking their photos, and she said she grasped the tricks of photography through such groundwork.

Among the exhibits this time, I especially liked the "Refrigerator" series. It is such a mundane part of daily life that I had almost never felt any artistry in refrigerators until now, but I realized that refrigerators are things where "people's lives" are condensed.
The contents of a refrigerator change from time to time, and the appearance changes greatly depending on the household. It is such a mass of daily life that when you go to a friend's house, they might say, "Don't look in the refrigerator!" By photographing these refrigerators mechanically, I felt that the interesting nature of the everyday life lurking within them seeped out.

The second floor features "Yokohama City Camera and Photography Collection Exhibition: The Distance Around Photography." I have seen exhibitions of this kind several times at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, but while those at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum unravel "what is a camera" based on the photos in their collection, the exhibition here has museum-like content, calmly explaining the trajectory of cameras from the early 19th century to the present day along with the actual items. There were many exhibits, and it was a very educational exhibition, with many things I learned for the first time.

What surprised me after seeing both exhibitions was that they were both of a quality you wouldn't think was free.
It wouldn't feel strange if they cost 400 to 600 yen each at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.
Also, the perfection of the pamphlet was high (it seems like a simple exhibition catalog).
The pamphlet is filled with photos (some in color) along with text that must have been carefully polished.
The way the photos are placed is not monotonous, and it is made with movement so that you don't get bored while looking at it, and I felt the enthusiasm of the curators.

I knew of the existence of the "Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino" until now, but I never had the opportunity to go. It was better than I imagined, and since it is free, I recommend that those who live relatively nearby and have never been there before should try going once.

Exhibition Name: "Tokuko Ushioda Photo Exhibition: Eternal Lesson," "Yokohama City Camera and Photography Collection Exhibition: The Distance Around Photography"
Location: Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino
Satisfaction: ★★★☆☆
Conversational Level: ★★★☆☆
Period: January 28, 2023 (Sat) - February 26, 2023 (Sun)
Access: About a 10-minute walk from Azamino Station
Admission (General): Free
Advance Reservation: Not required
Time Required for Exhibition: About 1 hour
Crowd Level: Comfortable even on holidays
Exhibition Photography: All allowed
URL: https://artazamino.jp/event/azamino-photo-2023
https://artazamino.jp/event/azamino-photo-2023-collection