The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography sets a different theme each year and then selects from its collection masterpieces that relate to the theme. This year's theme is the "aesthetics of photography." We will present in three phases various trends in photographic expression from early 19th-century photographs to contemporary works that explore the aesthetics of photography.

Snapshots of nature captured through the lens are not nature as it truly is, but a constructed nature, so to speak, in which moments captured by the artist's eye are presented through his or her various actions.

Sometimes artists aim to faithfully recreate the beauty of nature. And sometimes they strive to express it as a projection of their own psychological landscape. In the latter case, natural phenomena become not so much an object to be recreated as a means of expressing the artist's intention.

The same may be said of the viewer. Sometimes one finds beauty in a work that faithfully recreates nature, and sometimes one makes new discoveries by understanding the artist's intention. Sometimes our personal disposition adds a layer that may lead us to sense something profound.

Now, there are various foundations on which to base our engagement with nature, but here I would like to consider the wood, fire, earth, metal and water model found in ancient Chinese philosophy. This is the idea that all things are composed of the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, influencing each other to form the cycles of birth, death and rebirth; of rotation. Familiar to us as parts of the calendar, wood, fire, earth, metal and water have been assigned symbolic significance in everything from the seasons of spring, summer, midsummer, autumn and winter to the names of imaginary creatures such as the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Yellow Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise; grains and fruits, and even people's organs and intestines.

Occasionally we encounter wood not just as a tree, but as a symbol of sorts, or sacred tree. In fact, we assign many different meanings and images to all the elements: associating fire with frenzied passion, with festivity, light, warmth and vitality; earth with crops and conclusions; metal with industry and ambition; and water with moisture, the source of life, and purification. This is based on knowledge, experience and ideas passed down since early times, and also forms one basis for our dealings with nature. By taking another look at nature according to these old classifications of fire, wood, earth, metal and water, perhaps we will find unexpected new fields of vision opening up.

This exhibition presents photographs dealing with nature on a theme of "the aesthetics of photography," but no doubt there will be those who feel uncomfortable with our choice of photos. This is because the photos shown here are no more than selections reflecting a personal sensibility. We do hope though that the exhibition will serve as a guide of sorts for viewing works of photography, and help visitors discover new encounters with the Museum collection.

*image (left)
Mt.Funagata, Miyagi, 1990
© Takeshi Mizukoshi
Courtesy of Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography