Jun Abe (阿部 淳, Abe Jun, born 1955)[1] is a Japanese street photographer and educator who lives and works in Osaka. As of autumn 2014, he has produced six books of photographs of people in cities, including Citizens: 1979–1983, which won the Society of Photography Award. He was the official photographer of the butoh dance group Byakko-sha (白虎社) from 1982 to 1994.

Life and work edit

Abe was born in Osaka.[1] He studied photography at Ōsaka Shashin Senmon Gakkō (now Visual Arts Osaka).[2]

From 1982 to 1994 he was the official photographer for Byakko-sha (白虎社), a butoh dance group based in Kyoto.[3][4] In this capacity he travelled extensively in 1982 and 1983.[1]

From 2002 Abe has taught at the Visual Arts Osaka college.[2] He has been a member of the Osaka-based photography collective running Vacuum Press since 2006.[2] Since 2013 he has been represented by Hatten Gallery.[2]

Publications edit

  • クリーチャーズ ...... 神の獣たち = Kurīchāzu: Kami no kemono-tachi = Creaturers.[n 1] Village, 1989. ISBN 4-938598-04-3. Black and white photographs; essay by Isamu Ōsuka (大須賀勇) and artist chronology in Japanese.
  • 大阪 = Ōsaka. Osaka: Vacuum, 2007. ISBN 9784990328801. Vacuum Press 1. Colour photographs.[n 2]
  • 市民: 1979–1983 = Citizens: 1979–1983. Osaka: Vacuum, 2009. ISBN 9784990328832. Vacuum Press 4. Black and white photographs; no captions or other text.[n 3]
  • 黒白ノート: 1996–1999 = Kokubyaku nōto: 1996–1999 = Black & white note: 1996–1999. Osaka: Vacuum, 2010. ISBN 9784990328856. Vacuum Press 5. Black and white photographs; no captions or other text.[n 4]
  • マニラ: August, 1983 = Manira: August, 1983 = Manila: August, 1983. Osaka: Vacuum, 2011. ISBN 9784990328887. Vacuum Press 7. Black and white photographs; no captions or other text.[n 5]
  • 黒白ノート・2 = Kokubyaku nōto: 2 = Black & white note 2. Osaka: Vacuum, 2012. OCLC 827210141. Vacuum Press 9. Black and white photographs; no captions or other text.[n 6]
  • 2001. Osaka: Vacuum, 2013. OCLC 870254914. Vacuum Press 11. Black and white photographs; no captions or other text.[n 7]
  • Busan. Osaka: Vacuum, 2014. Black and white photographs.[n 8]
  • 1981<上> = 1981 (jō) = 1981: Top.[n 9] Osaka: Vacuum, 2015. Vacuum Press 14. First volume of a two-volume set. Black and white photographs.[n 10]
  • 1981<下> = 1981 (ge) = 1981: Bottom.[n 9] Osaka: Vacuum, 2015. Vacuum Press 15. Second volume of a two-volume set. Black and white photographs.[n 11]
  • 1981 コウベ = 1981 Kōbe = 1981: Kobe. Osaka: Vacuum, 2016.
  • New York. Osaka: Vacuum, 2017.[n 12]
  • Citizens in Society 1989~1994. Osaka: Vacuum, 2019.[n 13]

Exhibitions edit

Solo exhibitions edit

  • 2006: Black & White Note: Box, Gallery 10:06, Osaka.[5]
  • 2012: Citizens/1983, Gallery Niépce, Tokyo.[6]
  • 2012/2013: Citizens, The Third Gallery Aya, Osaka.[7]
  • 2013: Black & White Note, Black & White Note 2, Place M Photo Gallery, Tokyo. Related to his Society of Photography Award.[8][9]

Group exhibitions edit

Awards edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ The colophon shows the short Japanese title クリーチャーズ (Kurīchāzu) alone. The subtitle 神の獣たち (Kami no kemono-tachi) appears nowhere other than the title page. Creaturers [sic] appears on the front cover and title page and also in the list of exhibitions. It appears to be a mistake, because (if it rhymed with "treasurers"), "creaturers" would have different katakana (most likely クリーチュラーズ); as it is, the pronunciation of the Japanese title matches that of "creatures".
  2. ^ The publisher's page about Ōsaka (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014) is here.
  3. ^ The publisher's page about Citizens (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 3 April 2016) is here.
  4. ^ The publisher's page about Black & white note (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014) is here.
  5. ^ The publisher's page about Manila (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014) is here.
  6. ^ The publisher's page about Black & white note 2 (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014) is here.
  7. ^ The publisher's page about 2001 (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014) is here.
  8. ^ The publisher's page about Busan (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 3 April 2016) is here.
  9. ^ a b "Top" is a literal translation of () in other contexts; and "bottom" is a literal translation of ge () in other contexts. In this context, and ge simply mean volumes 1 and 2 respectively of a two-volume work. (As is common for two-volume works in Japan, the two are priced and sold separately.)
  10. ^ The publisher's page about 1981: Top (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 3 April 2016) is here.
  11. ^ The publisher's page about 1981: Bottom (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 3 April 2016) is here.
  12. ^ The publisher's page about New York is here.
  13. ^ The publisher's page about Citizens in Society 1989~1994 is here.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Chronology in Creaturers.
  2. ^ a b c d "Jun Abe", Vacuum Press. Archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Paris Photo: 14.17 Nov 2013 Grand Palais", Paris Photo. Accessed 7 September 2014.
  4. ^ 白黒ノート・箱, Gallery 10:06. Accessed 7 September 2014.
  5. ^ "2012", Gallery Niépce. Accessed 7 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Citizens: Jun Abe Archived 8 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine", The Third Gallery Aya. Accessed 7 September 2014.
  7. ^ "2013.7.29-8.4", Place M Photo Gallery. Accessed 7 September 2014.
  8. ^ Kōtarō Iizawa, 阿部淳「市民・黒白ノート・黒白ノート2」, Artscape, 15 August 2013. Accessed 18 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Citizens: Black and white images from noiresque streets of Japan", Format Festival. Accessed 7 September 2014.
  10. ^ "Jun Abe", Paris Photo. Accessed 7 September 2014.
  11. ^ "First Foto Istanbul Festival in Besiktas Square until Nov. 18". Türkiye Newspaper. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Prize of 'Society of Photography' Archived 13 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine", Society of Photography. Accessed 6 September 2014.