DAIDO MORIYAMA - RANDOM WALK (SIGNED)

DAIDO MORIYAMA
RANDOM WALK

Published by Ibasho and The (M) edition, 2021
Book size 24 x 12 cm
Pages 72 pages, 80 B&W Polaroid stickers, 40 Color Polaroid stickers
hardcover in cardboard box
Limited edition of 1000 numbered and signed copies
Text by Daido Moriyama in Japanese and English

With this latest book by Daido Moriyama everyone can create their own 'random walk' through the streets that Daido Moriyama roamed, by sticking the 80 B&W and 40 color Polaroids images into the book in an order that can be decided individually.

“Basically, I am in love with black and white photography. If you are wondering why, I may say that there is something 'dreamy' about black and white, and that I appreciate its 'symbolically abstract' quality. Anyway, in the end I think it all comes down to the fact that the things depicted in a black and white photograph simply generate the image and impact of an 'alien' scenery of sorts.
In other worlds, both my self and other people who look at black and white photographs don't see only the concrete events they depict, but in my view these pictures hit us right from the start with their transferred 'extraordinariness', instantly stimulate our imaginative understanding of the imagery purified into shades of black and white, and let us experience a different reality through the encounter with the 'alien world'. This is at least about what attracts me so much about black and white photography.
On the other hand, if you ask me why I take color photographs, especially color Polaroids, I think it is probably because they allow me to directly experience the essence of photography, which is to make copies of the real world. Paradoxically that overly real world captured by color Polaroids takes me to an 'alien world'.
After all, it seems like when I walk the streets, I am looking for somewhere other than here, in other words, I probably release the shutter only when I feel I have found the entrance to that 'alien world'.” -Daido Moriyama

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With this latest book by Daido Moriyama, everyone can create their own "random walk" through the streets that Daido Moriyama walked, by pasting the 80 B&W and 40 color Polaroid images into the book in an order that can be decided individually.

“Basically, I am in love with black and white photography. If you are wondering why, I can say that there is something “dreamy” about black and white, and that I appreciate its “symbolically abstract” quality. Anyway, in the end, I think it all comes down to the fact that the things depicted in a black and white photograph simply generate the image and impact of a kind of “alien” landscape.
In other worlds, I and others who look at black and white photographs not only see the concrete events they represent, but in my opinion, these images strike us from the very beginning with their transferred "extraordinaryness", instantly stimulate our imaginative understanding of the purified imagery in shades of black and white, and let us experience a different reality through the encounter with the "foreign world". At least, this is what attracts me so much to black and white photography.
On the other hand, if you ask me why I take color photographs, especially color Polaroids, I think it is probably because they allow me to directly feel the essence of photography, which is to make copies of the real world. Paradoxically, this too real world captured by color Polaroids takes me into an "alien world."
After all, I feel like when I walk the streets, I'm looking for somewhere other than here, in other words, I probably only release the shutter when I feel like I've found the entrance to this "alien world." -Daido Moriyama