Michiko Kon and Masayuki Nishimaru at Tai Ji Xuan Gallery, May 24, 2010

Michiko Kon is a Japanese photographer born in Kamakura of Kanagawa Prefecture, 1955. She graduated from Sokei Art School in 1978 and after that, she studied at Tokyo Photographic College. She won the Art School Prize of Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition in 1984, Newcomer Award of Higashikawa International Photography Festival in 1987 and the Ihei Kimura Photography Award of the Asahi Shimbun in 1991.

Kamakura, Michiko’s homeland, is a place surrounding by mountains and ocean. The beauty of nature inspires Michiko a lot since her childhood. By using fragments of sea creatures, birds, cloth and other assorted common objects, she has become one of the few Asian women photographers who are accepted by the western world.

Michiko’s miraculous photographs have come to Beijing now. The exhibition runs through May 22 to July 22 at Tai Ji Xuan Gallery. On May 24th, Michiko Kon and Masayuki Nishimaru, who is the expert of Platinum Prints, have been interviewed by Artron.net.

The exhibition is showcasing till July 22.

Artron: Michiko Sensei is born in 1950s, but your works are also fascinating to the 70s and 80s generations. I have heard many young people defining your photographs as post-modernism. How do you think of your identity?
Michiko Kon: When I started taking photographs, I did have some concern that people might not like my works. So I tried to imitate the professional photographers, for example, I went to learn the darkroom work. Then I find out I could do as well as others, even the professional ones would not laugh at me when they saw my pictures. But later, my mind of following others was dismissed. To me, photography is more like a medium, expressing my feeling and my aesthetic viewpoint. Till now, I can not give a clear definition to my works. Maybe it is more close to contemporary art.

Artron: How many times did you come to China?
Kon: This is the first time.

Artron: Do you have some contact with some Chinese contemporary artist?
Kon: Not yet. Though I have met many contemporary artists in Japan, but in China, I did not have the chance yet.

Michiko Kon is fascinated by Chinese folk art.

Artron: I think it would be great if you can hold a lecture that more Chinese youngsters can listen and talk with you directly.
Kon: Ar..I would be very nervous. In fact, I am already very nervous now!

Artron: Why you use fish so often in your works?
Kon: Because I grew up in Kamakura which is a place surrounding by mountains and oceans. When I was little, I took the fish back and delivered every morning. I was familiar with many sea creatures. I love the sheen of their skin.

Artron: In China, fish means reproduction worship. Michiko Sensei, do you know that? Is there any special meaning about the fish in your pictures?
Kon: No, I did not know about that. Does the mermaid come from China? Hah... I did not think too much when I use fish, just because I was accustomed to it since I was a child.

Artron: Your works are made by Masayuki Nishimaru Sensei. He used the platinum prints to make the photos more classic. How did you begin your cooperation?
Kon: We started to work together in 2007. I asked Nishimaru Sang to help me making the platinum photos. But for the normal silver salts, I still make by myself.

 Using fish, birds, cloth, pins and other assorted common objects
she constructs small items that you may have or may have worn at one time.

Artron: We know the final photographs which are presenting to the audience are not just about the shooting, printing is also a very important part. How do you communicate during the collaborating process?
Masayuki Nishimaru: Michiko Kon Sensei does the photo shooting first, and then we do the platinum printing part. I try my best to present Michiko Sang’s original thoughts, but platinum print has its special qualities. So I would tell her first to get her permission.

Artron: We could see the platinum printing skill helps a lot when presenting the metallic gloss.
Nishimaru: The key point of making platinum photos is about how to control the dark part. If the dark part turns into all black without any distinction, it would be a failure.

 While they are dead creatures, the misty, gleaming quality of their surface
suggests to us that this new object is somehow still alive.

Artron: How many platinum photos have you made for Michiko Sensei?
Nishimaru: It is a total of 22 photos, all presenting here.

Artron: Shall we see more platinum photos in the future?
Kon: In my point of view, I would consider the character of the photos first. I do not want all my photos to be made into platinum photos, but only the one suitable be presenting in that way. In the future, I plan to take some new photo shoots. If there are any appropriate pictures, and Nishimura Sang has time to do that, I would be looking forward to cooperate again.

Artron: How many times does it take to achieve the ideal effect?
Nishimaru: Actually we need to adjust the photos in the computer first. If everything goes well, we can finish it in a couple hours. But sometimes we need to spend a whole day on it. When finish the computer part, we print it and compare to the digital image, and adjust again. So it usually takes three days.

Artron: Are there still quite a lot people in Japan using this traditional way to print photos?
Nishimaru: Yes. In the past, we called it “photo enlarging shop”. They provided platinum photos. But there is only three shops remaining the Japan now. Some craftsmen collaborate with artists, some make photos themselves. It is not a rare thing yet.

Kon transforms our comfortable spaces and reliable possessions into objects
and environments of desire and death, leaving only uncertainty and an uneasy feeling.

Artron: Have they made up some clubs or groups?
Nishimaru: Yes, there are some clubs and groups. And they also teach classic photography in colleges.

Artron: Is the classic photography a compulsory course?
Nishimaru: Different colleges have different rules. Some consider it is compulsory, some offer choices to the students.

Artron: Michiko Sensei, How long did you learn taking photos?
Kon: I attended the photographic college in 1978. I learnt one year and then graduate.

Artron: Does the style of your current photos develop at the beginning? Are there any transitional periods?
Kon: The reason I went to learn photography is that I want to express my inside feeling and my concept. So I think the concept is already there, skill is the medium.

Artron: The major element in your photos, fish, can well represent Japan. But the forms of the photos aren’t in the traditional Japanese style. There might be some European impact? How do you think about that?
Kon: Because I used to go to church school when I was little, there might be some rooted western religion culture in my subconscious mind. I am not supposed to present that during the photo shoots. With age, I more realize this might be a problem. Probably in the later works, I will try to present more Japanese style.

By using fragments of birds and sea creatures, she speaks of the lives we take to
support our society, as well as reversing the common roles of food and clothing.

Artron: Many people say that your images are between reality and fancy. How do you find the balance?
Kon: I did not try too hard to find the point of neutralization but just follow my feeling. I use some dead sea creatures or birds. Reconstruct them and give them new lives.

Artron: Your photos have rich elements and a clever composition. Do you plan everything before the shooting?
Kon: Maybe we can say that, we plan the 70%. But the remaining 30% is developed during the shooting process, following our some new inspirations.

Photo: Wang Jiang (Artron.net)