Signed, Seiji Kurata - AKB 80's - 2016

Photographer Seiji Kurata's photobook “AKB 80's (Signed)”.

Wandering the cities centred on Ikebukuro and Shinjuku from the late 1970s, his works vividly capture people frolicking in nightlife districts and turbulent street corners using intense strobe lighting, revealing the strange and mysterious darkness lurking within the city.

These images are violent and provocative, yet imbued with a beauty of chaos. Within their cold, objective gaze lies human affection, evoking associations with the great American photographer Weegee, dubbed the “urban hyena”, and Diane Arbus, renowned for her portraits of freaks.

The diverse interweaving of photographic elements depicted in the plates reveals new frontiers in documentary and photographic art. Seiji Kurata, highly regarded globally as a photographer who opened a breach in the Japanese photographic world from the 1980s onwards, was respected even by Araki and Moriyama from that time.

This volume comprises early works from the late 1980s within Kurata's lifelong “Urban Sculpture” series, spanning nearly two decades from the late 1980s to around 2008. Unlike conventional snapshots, it features monochrome images employing techniques such as multiple exposures. Limited edition of 700 copies. Signed by the photographer.

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