Reading Notes | Yoshiaki Kai, "The Image as It Is: Snap Aesthetics and the History of Japanese Photography," Chapter 10: "Reflexive Turn: Street Snaps Since the 1980s"

Summary (Detailed Version)

The theme of this chapter is the gradual shift in "street snaps" in Japan since the 1980s, which is a reflexive turn. It traces how the self-conscious gesture of the artist—a reflexive attitude—which emerged from the intersection of the "objective/non-staged" snap aesthetic (symbolized by Kimura and Domon) up to the 1970s and the reception of 1960s American photography (Arbus, Winogrand, etc.), influenced Japanese street snaps in the 1980s. At the beginning of the chapter, it is emphasized that the book as a whole views the snap as a "genre with a history." It is pointed out that even as large-format works (Toshio Shibata, Naoya Hatakeyama, etc.) rose to prominence in the 1980s and street snaps receded from the center, the snap continued to be positioned as a classical genre that leverages medium specificity.

The first section is **"Re-approaching the Face."** Based on the reception of American photography—particularly the re-evaluation of Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand—it discusses how the photographic stance of closing the distance to faces and bodies, and the gesture of the photographer throwing themselves into the crowd, are linked to screen compositions that reject narrative explanation.

The second section is **"The Fictional Image of the 'Naive Photographer'". It examines the process by which the image of a "naive and pure snap photographer" was institutionally constructed in the photography world from the 1980s onward through judging, criticism, and magazines, and points out that such "naivety" is often a retrospective narrative—a fictional image**.

The third section is **"Reflexive Snaps". Referencing John Szarkowski’s framework (MoMA’s 1978 "Mirrors and Windows"), which asks whether a snap is a "window to the world" or a "mirror of the author," it re-positions the snap along a continuous axis of self-expression (mirror) and world investigation (window). Japanese street snaps moved toward incorporating self-awareness of the act of photographing itself** (the photographer's intervention, distance, and ethics) into the frame while observing the expressions of subjects and the gestures of crowds. Furthermore, examples of presenting the repetitive gestures of crowds as "socialized movements" (e.g., plates and explanations around Hiromi Tsuchida’s "Counting Sand") are discussed as demonstrating an update to snap aesthetics concerning record/commemoration/staging.

Supplementarily, this chapter also examines the room for photography to function as a "window/mirror" and the sustainability of street snaps, while referencing the critique found in Sontag’s "On Photography" (1977; Japanese translation 1979) that the proliferation of photographs "images/replaces" experience.

Organization of Arguments (Detailed)

1. Re-approaching the Face

• Closing the Distance Again: An attitude of approaching the subject and placing the center of gravity of the frame on the expressions of the face and body intensifies. This is organized in relation to the reception of Arbus and Winogrand (not hiding the author's intervention, daring to accept the intersection of gazes).

• Rejection of Narrative and the Aesthetics of Arrangement: Moving from chronological explanation or news value toward screen generation through "arrangement" and "coincidental overlaps."

• The Scope of Concrete Examples: Observation of crowd scenes (such as the visualization of repetitive gestures) connects beyond a mere accumulation of portraits to a gaze toward "social bodily behavior."

2. The Fictional Image of the Naive Photographer

• The 'Naivety' Created by Institutions: Discourses in exhibitions, judging, and camera magazines narrate the artist as having an "unadorned, naive gaze," which spreads as an evaluation axis. However, that naivety is also a fiction created by staging, editing, and peripheral discourse.

• The Function of the Fictional Image: Entangled with wariness toward recent art contexts (photography as art works) and movements to re-enclose the snap into a "classical/wholesome" domain, "naivety" functions as a guarantor of conservative values.

3. Reflexive Snaps

• The Mirror/Window Continuous Axis: Szarkowski captured photography on the axis of "mirror (self-expression)" and "window (world exploration)." Street snaps since the 1980s can be understood as practices that strengthened "self-awareness of the act of photographing (reflexivity)" on this axis.

• Genre Awareness and Marginalization: While street snaps diminished in central status with the rise of large-format works, their self-awareness as a "genre with a history" became clear. Their survival as a classical style is reaffirmed.

• Analysis of Crowds and Gestures: The description around Hiromi Tsuchida shows an update to snap aesthetics (reorganization of record/staging) through the visualization of the repetitive gestures of crowds—that is, socialized movements.

Glossary (For Beginners)

• Reflexive Turn
  A shift in direction that incorporates self-examination into the frame regarding the act of shooting itself (distance, consent, gaze, choice of composition, etc.). In the street snapshots from the 80s onwards covered in this chapter, an attitude that does not hide the author's intervention and makes the relationship of seeing/being seen conscious has spread. This is the central concept indicated by the chapter title.

• Re-approaching the Face
  Photography that gets close to the subject's face or body. It avoids explanatory narratives and establishes the frame through the sharpness of placement and expression. This is discussed against the backdrop of the reception of 1960s American photography.

• The Naive Photographer (as a False Image)
  An image of a photographer praised as being "unadorned and natural." However, this chapter critically organizes the idea that this naivety itself is created by institutions (judging/discourse).

• Mirrors and Windows
  A framework for understanding contemporary photography by John Szarkowski (MoMA, 1978). It captures photography on a continuous axis between the mirror of self-expression and the window of world exploration. This chapter refers to this axis to explain the self-reorientation of snapshots from the 80s onwards. ;Note: MoMA press materials. (Scribd).

• Gestures of the Crowd
  A gaze that focuses on and visualizes the repetitive and socialized movements of the crowd. Along with the explanation of Hiromi Tsuchida's work, it is treated as an example showing the update of snapshot aesthetics (rearrangement of record/staging).

Critical Analysis (Simply / Connecting to Actual Practice)

1. Not 'Replacement' but 'Coexistence'
   1960s-style avant-garde (bringing the materiality of photography to the fore with coarse grain, blur, and high contrast) and classical snapshots (non-staged, objective, sharp) have coexisted since the 70s and 80s. While the narrative of this chapter notes the retreat of the centrality of street snapshots due to the rise of large-format photography in the 80s, it shows that self-awareness as a genre has actually become clearer. Snapshots have not "ended," but are continuing while changing their position.

2. The Politics of 'Naivety'
   The narrativization of the "naive photographer" image can function as resistance to the institutionalization of photography as art (gallery/contemporary art) or as a device to guarantee the classical nature of snapshots. The critique in this chapter shows that the discourse praising "naivety" itself is often a fictitious image produced institutionally, and points out the possibility that when we call something "natural" or "as it is," we have already internalized some norm (taste, media, magazine culture). The person taking the photo needs to pause for a moment and ask, "Which institution supports my naivety?"

3. Strengths/Weaknesses of Reflexive Snapshots
   Szarkowski's Mirror/Window model serves as a tool for photographers to self-position their work between the artist's gestures (mirror) and their gaze toward the world (window). On the other hand, if reflexivity converges too much on the artist's "personal narrative," there is a risk that openness to the subject and social situation will diminish. Sontag pointed out the danger that the proliferation of photography "replaces experience with images," but snapshot as an act (shooting, encountering, intervening) is also a response to that danger—an attitude of "returning to experience through images" rather than "reducing experience to images."

4. Concrete References (International Context)
   Winogrand's <Public Relations> (MoMA, 1977) and Arbus's iconic portraits (1966) are excellent examples demonstrating approaching the face / refusal of explanation / tension in composition and are effective for confirming the background of their reception in Japan. (The Museum of Modern Art) (The Museum of Modern Art) (artmuseum.princeton.edu)

References/Sources (Basis for descriptions within the chapter)

• Yoshiaki Kai, 'Images as They Are: Snapshot Aesthetics and the History of Japanese Photography' (University of Tokyo Press, 2024), Chapter 10, 'Reflexive Turn.' Based on chapter headings, structure, and body text. Examples: The rise of large format and the position of street snapshots (Shibata, Hatakeyama), clarification of genre awareness, re-approaching the face and the context of American photography reception, the fictional image of the naive photographer, gestures of the crowd/Hiromi Tsuchida example, Sontag reference, Szarkowski reference.

• The Museum of Modern Art, Public Relations: Photographs by Garry Winogrand (Exhibition page, Oct 18–Dec 11, 1977). (The Museum of Modern Art)

• The Museum of Modern Art, Installation view (Public Relations, 1977). (The Museum of Modern Art)

• John Szarkowski, Mirrors and Windows: American Photography since 1960 (MoMA, 1978) Press release summary. (Scribd)

• Princeton University Art Museum, Diane Arbus, A Young Man in Curlers at Home on West 20th Street, New York City (1966) Work data. (artmuseum.princeton.edu)

Hashtags (20)

#SnapshotPhotography #HistoryOfJapanesePhotography #ReflexiveTurn #MirrorsAndWindows #ReapproachingTheFace #NaivePhotographer #StreetSnapshot #GesturesOfTheCrowd #PhotographyEthics #Szarkowski #Sontag #Arbus #Winogrand #ToshioShibata #NaoyaHatakeyama #HiromiTsuchida #DocumentationAndStaging #PhotographyCriticism #SnapshotAsAGenre #ContemporaryPhotography