Daido Moriyama

MORIYAMA, Daido. Daido Moriyama. First edition. Folio. Unbound loose-leaf zine with 51 broadsheets of b&w full-bleed imagery. Photographic wrappers with bright pink titles enclosed in a shiny grey re-sealable plastic bag with photo sticker. From an edition of 800 copies. London: Guiding Light and Michael Hoppen Gallery, 2004. The plastic bag is lightly creased with a few folds. A small tear to the upper portion of the publication wrapper. Overall a very good copy of a scarce publication. Incredibly striking catalogue to represent some of Moriyama's most iconic imagery including his Stray Dog photograph. Lusciously printed on heavy paper in a broadsheet format, each full-bleed spread is immediately arresting. This scarce offering confirms Moriyama's genius both as image-maker and book-maker. The publication opens with a fine endorsement by William Klein: 'So many photographers, Henri Cartier-Bresson is one, keep telling us life can be beautiful. But for Daido, life can be, and is, pretty shitty. and photography as well. Now, after rubbing our noses in that for years and years, he has put together a show in Paris [2004] and its like in the movies, when the man says to the girl, 'hey take off your glasses'. and she does. 'But but. you're beautiful!'. And she is. And today we see Daido's tragic, despairing, no way out, end of the world photos for what they always were, fucking beautiful, like he is himself. So. more power to him!'.