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 1/4 × 21 1/4 in. (36.2 × 54 cm)
 Sheet: 17 7/8 × 21 3/4 in. (45.4 × 55.2 cm)
 Frame (outer): 22 7/8 × 28 7/8 × 1 3/4 in. (58.1 × 73.3 × 4.4 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Geoffrey and Barbara Koslov
Object number2014.688
Not on view

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
verso bottom right corner in ink: 1/10
verso bottom center in ink: [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
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from the series Familiar Street Scenes
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1978–1980, printed 2014
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