Gocho Shigeo
from the series Familiar Street Scenes

from the series Familiar Street Scenes

© Hiroichi Gocho

from the series Familiar Street Scenes
from the series Familiar Street Scenes
ArtistJapanese, 1946–1983
CultureJapanese
Titles
  • from the series Familiar Street Scenes
Date1978–1980, printed 2014
MediumChromogenic print
DimensionsImage: 14 1/16 × 21 1/4 in. (35.7 × 54 cm)
 Sheet: 17 7/8 × 21 13/16 in. (45.4 × 55.4 cm)
 Frame (outer) (ANW EXHIBITION FRAME): 22 7/8 × 28 7/8 × 1 3/4 in. (58.1 × 73.3 × 4.4 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Meyer Levy Charitable Foundation
Object number2014.686
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
DescriptionShigeo Gochō’s final series, Familiar Street Scenes, marks a significant departure from the style of portraits for which he had become known. He used color film for the first time and sought out fleeting formal patterns in the bustle and flow of the streets of downtown Tokyo while moving closer to his subjects, which he then presented in larger, bold prints. The diminished distance between the photographer and his subjects leads to a more confrontational relationship. Though some return his gaze, their expressions convey an admonishment rather than a shared acceptance. At the time it was published, Familiar Street Scenes did not receive wide recognition from an audience that had been primed by Self and Others (2014.689-93). However, perhaps the human interactions espoused in the two bodies of work are not so different: whether or not gazes are exchanged, it is never possible to completely understand the true thoughts behind those gazes.
ProvenanceMEM Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, 2014.
Exhibition History“For A New World to Come: Experiments in Japanese Art and Photography, 1968-1979 Japan,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 8–July 12, 2015.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in ink on verso lower right: 1/10
Signed (?) in ink on verso lower center in Japanese characters

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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from the series Familiar Street Scenes
Gocho Shigeo
from the series Familiar Street Scenes
1978–1980, printed 2014
Chromogenic print
2014.687
from the series Familiar Street Scenes
Gocho Shigeo
from the series Familiar Street Scenes
1978–1980, printed 2014
Chromogenic print
2014.688
from the series Self and Others
Gocho Shigeo
from the series Self and Others
1975–1977, printed 1992
Gelatin silver print
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from the series Self and Others
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1975–1977, printed 1992
Gelatin silver print
2014.690
from the series Self and Others
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1975–1977, printed 1992
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2014.691
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