Ravens and Red Lipstick

Book excerpt: An accessible and visually rich study of Japanese photography since 1945 by an experienced curator specializing in Japanese art and culture.From the severity of post-war Realism to the diversity and technical ingenuity of the present, via movements and groups such as Vivo in the 1960s and 'girls' photography' in the 1990s, this visually bold and richly volume traces the development of Japanese photography since 1945. Interleaved are new interviews with some of the most influential practitioners in photographic history, from Moriyama Daido to Araki Nobuyoshi and Kawauchi Rinko.Lena Fritsch writes with imagination and clarity, interrogating a cross-section of photographic movements and works against the vivid, shifting backdrop of Japanese social, cultural and political history. The result is both an accessible introduction and an illuminating work of analysis for general readers and aficionados alike.