Issei Suda
78
Published by Chose Commune, 2020
Pages 128 pages
Book size 24 x 28 cm / 78 images
Hardcover with slipcase
Languages French/ English / Japanese
78 special edition included a first edition book with one of two prints by Issei Suda — each on an edition of 15 — housed together in a handmade slipcase.
The prints have been authenticated by the archive and are numbered and stamped on the reverse.
Print size: 20.3 x 20.3 cm
Image size: 19.3 x 19.3 cm
The story behind 78 tells of a promise kept after the passing of the Japanese master of photography Issei Suda, to publish a book with an original approach. Although the project originated in January 2019, 78 presents a selection of unseen photographs selected from the Suda archive in November 2019. Shot between 1971 and 1983, these photographs have never been published until this day.
In this book, Suda's unique and profoundly urban vision unfolds in a series of contrasts and allusions. The unexpected presence of animals and children's mischievous looks fill up the streets, adding a sense of strangeness to these everyday scenes. From Tokyo to its surrounding prefectures, the photographer's striking world is immersed in urban energy, bringing out – with a hint of humor – its spirit. The same energy can also be found in Suda's trademark deep and contrasted blacks, a unique hallmark of his work.
“It was only upon our return to France that I realized Suda had passed away at 78, the exact number of prints we had intuitively selected on that autumn afternoon. This book is a tribute to the great photographer he was.”
Cecile Poimboeuf-Koizumi
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The story of 78 is that of a promise continued and kept after the death of the photographer Issei Suda, to publish a book with an original and renewed approach to the photographs of the Japanese master. If the project takes its roots in January 2019, 78 is the result of a work of selection of unpublished images in Suda's archives, carried out in November 2019. Taken between 1971 and 1983, these photographs have never been published to this day.
Throughout this book, Suda's deeply urban and surprising vision unfolds in contrasts and winks. The unexpected presence of animals or the mischievous glances of children bounce off street scenes that are as everyday as they are strange. From Tokyo to its neighboring prefectures, the photographer's universe is imbued with the dynamics of the city to restore - not without irony - all its breath. This same energy surfaces in the depth of the blacks and the sharpness of Issei Suda's contrasts that make his work unique.
“It was only after we returned to France that I realized that Suda had died at the age of 78, the exact number of images we intuitively selected that autumn afternoon. This book is a tribute to the great photographer he was.”
Cecile Poimboeuf-Koizumi