Critical Diary Report
I first found Kusakabe Kimbei's photo of a procession whilst flicking through a book, i was immediately drawn to this striking photograph which stands strong even though its over 100 years old.
Kimbei born in 1841, learned photography as an apprentice to Baron von Stillfried, an Austrian who worked in Japan from 1872 to 1883. Once Stillfried had left Kimbei acquired many of the plates of his teacher and of well known photographer Felice Beato, who was prominent in Japan at the time. He then re-printed many of these and included them inside his own portfolio. Which contained albumen prints created with egg whites to suspend the light sensitive material. Later he used a method of hand painting which had just emerged using watercolours to hand paint and highlight area's. This method was popular in japan especially with Felice Beato but unfortunately the western world was not appreciative of this. The portfolio contained a large quantity of stylised studio portraits, and a range of scenic views. These prints were mainly sold to tourists or shipped to the west for those unable to visit the country.
The Buddhist procession is my favourite photograph it is imposing yet non intrusive, it contains haunting views of faces slowly merging into the distance, each one focused on the tradition. The detail present in each face appears spectacular considering its age and origins. Not only that but Kimbei has carefully coloured the image to represent the significance of traditional dress and formality but also to highlight the immense number of people gathered. This is shown as the red draws the eye into the photograph through the crowd.
Japanese WomenAlbumen, hand colored
26,4 x 20,4 cm
1877-1890
I find the majority of his portraits although beautiful in there own right, contain eerie sense derived from what i don't know, possibly there expression, the style of print or perhaps just the fact that there from a time and place I have no relation to. This works in the benefit of the Buddhist procession print helping to reinforce the somber mood.
Coolie with raincoat
Albumen, hand colored
26,2 x 20,2 cm
1885
This next photograph is also a personal favourite it appears less staged than the previous portrait, perhaps because of the informal attire and pose. It is highlighted to create a real sense of depth which gives it life, even though only soft accents are used. The photograph expresses well the working class figure with pride and has a good range of tone. This is especially obvious in the range of detail in the creased face and straw. Which considering the age of the photo shows an obvious competence by Kimbei. I believe that by hand colouring these prints Kimbei reinforces atmosphere and depth. Hand colouring was originally done using pigments on daguerreotypes. This process of carefully brushing on ground pigment then blowing away excess was a delicate job which required accuracy.
Attributed to Alexis Gouin
Portrait of Alexandre Dumas
Circa 1851
Coloured and gilded stereoscopic daguerreotype
There are examples of this from as early as 1842, but the Japanese later began typically using the watercolour technique as seen on Kimbei's prints. This was painted onto the image directly.
I hope I have given an insight into my opinions and thoughts on what is a striking piece of history.
The information here was gathered using:
http://www.skjstudio.com/flowers/kimbei.html
http://www.museeniepce.com/catalogues/im.php?id=32&img=29&limit=10&offset=20
http://photography.about.com/library/weekly/aa061002b.htm
One hundred photographs a collection by Bruce Bernard, Phaidon
posted by Miss Kelly @ 3:01 PM
0 comments
