Literature

Biography:

Minayoshi Takada (1899 – 1982) was one of Japanese photography’s most prominent and experimental pioneers. Trained in the dominant Pictorialist style during the 1920s, Takada’s work demonstrates an awareness of contemporary international currents, most obviously in his references to Surrealism and Constructivism. The dreamlike juxtapositions and abstracted forms which dominate his pictures are animated by a bold graphic sensibility, which does not shy away from close cropping and dramatically inverted contrasts. The sophistication of his imaginative compositions is equalled by Takada’s accomplished command of printing’s technical aspects, often using double negatives and transparencies to register several prints within densely suggestive composite images.