Martha Graham in Lamentation, 1930, Gelatin silver print; Soichi Sunami (1885-1971); Courtesy of the Sunami Family
Pictorialist Photography: Soichi Sunami and his Issei Contemporaries
- 26 April 2023
- 7.00pm
- Daiwa Foundation, 13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace, London NW1 4QP
- https://dajf.org.uk/event/pictorialist-photography-soichi-sunami-and-his-issei-contemporaries-david-martin
- +44 (0)20 7486 4348
- events@dajf.org.uk
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David F. Martin will discuss the work and international achievements of Issei photographers active in Seattle, Washington, in the early 20th century.
He will focus primarily on Soichi Sunami (1885-1971) whose artistic career began in Seattle and continued after he relocated to New York where he became the chief photographer for the Museum of Modern Art. Sunami’s main interest was dance photography and his subjects included Martha Graham, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn and other iconic dancers of the period.
The Seattle Camera Club was founded in 1924 and held their first exhibition the following year. They became internationally recognized for their artistic or “Pictorialist” work as a group as well as individually. The key members of SCC were Hiromu Kira (1898–1991), Dr. Kyo Koike (1878–1947), Frank Asakichi Kunishige (1878–1960), and Yukio Morinaga (1888–1968). They exhibited in most of the prestigious international salons of the period, winning awards and having their work reproduced in important photographic publications and catalogues. The SCC became so well known that individual members ranked among the most exhibited photographers in North America.
With the exception of Sunami who was living on the east coast during WWII, the Seattle Issei photographers were interned at the Minidoka relocation centre (concentration camp) which collectively ended their artistic careers.
About the contributors
David F. Martin
David F. Martin is a curator and writer specializing in the art history of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. His career has focused on women, Japanese Americans, gay & lesbian and other American minorities who had established national and international reputations during the period 1890-1960. He is the author of numerous books and catalogues including Invocation of Beauty: The Life and Photography of Soichi Sunami (1885-1971), University of Washington Press, Seattle & London, 2018 and Shadows of a Fleeting World: Pictorial Photography and the Seattle Camera Club, University of Washington Press, 2011. He contributes essays and catalogue entries for national and international publications on painting, printmaking and photography. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Cornish College of the Arts in 2017. David is Curator for Cascadia Art Museum in Edmonds, Washington, USA.
