Yoshio Itagaki
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese artist
and photographer. He has appeared on the American television program Nightline
and on News 11 on Japan's NHK
.
from Tama Art University
(Tokyo, Japan) in 1991 and an M.A. in Studio Art from New York University
in 1995. He also studied at the International Center of Photography
(ICP) in 1997.
and started using digital alteration as early as 1994.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and photographer. He has appeared on the American television program Nightline
Nightline
Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
and on News 11 on Japan's NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
.
Education
Itagaki received a B.A. in Studio ArtStudio art
Studio art is made of art and studio, and the term has several implications depending on the context used. The term encompasses all art forms, be they performing or visual.-Definition:...
from Tama Art University
Tama Art University
is a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1935 as a spinoff from what is today Musashino Art University...
(Tokyo, Japan) in 1991 and an M.A. in Studio Art from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1995. He also studied at the International Center of Photography
International Center of Photography
The International Center of Photography is a photography museum, school, and research center in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
(ICP) in 1997.
Themes
Itagaki deals with social, religious and technological issues. He has been a pioneer in digital photographyDigital photography
Digital photography is a form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film...
and started using digital alteration as early as 1994.
Career
Itagaki has made series of works called Tourists on the Moon, Honeymoon Wedding, Traveling Games, Cyber Amish County, Native American Reservation on the Moon and Urban Legends.Selected exhibitions
- 2005 Romo Gallery, Atlanta, GA
- 2005 Tama Art UniversityTama Art Universityis a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1935 as a spinoff from what is today Musashino Art University...
, Tokyo, Japan - 2004 Jack the Pelican Presents, New York City
- 2004 K*MoPA, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic ArtsKiyosato Museum of Photographic ArtsThe is a gallery of photography in the Kiyosato regionof the city of Hokuto, Yamanashi .The gallery was founded in 1995; Eikoh Hosoe has been its director since its inception....
, Japan - 2003 Odense Foto Triennial, OdenseOdenseThe city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... - 2003 Byron Cohen Gallery, Kansas City, MO
- 2002 Grand Arts, Kansas City, MO
- 2000 Tyler Gallery, Temple UniversityTemple UniversityTemple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
, Philadelphia - 2000 Cristinerose Gallery, New York City
- 2000 The Alternative MuseumThe Alternative MuseumThe Alternative Museum was founded in 1975 by artists for artists and the broader New York City community in the United States. Its primary purpose was to present works of art created by artists of conscience through exhibitions of contemporary art, world music concerts, performances and panel...
, New York City - 1999 Grey Art Gallery, New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, New York City
Museum collections
- Museet for Fotokunst, Odense, Denmark
- Gilman Foundation, New York City, USA
- Kiyosato Museum of Photographic ArtsKiyosato Museum of Photographic ArtsThe is a gallery of photography in the Kiyosato regionof the city of Hokuto, Yamanashi .The gallery was founded in 1995; Eikoh Hosoe has been its director since its inception....
, Japan
Reviews
- "Yoshio Itagaki, a Japanese artist living in New York, portrays moonscapes of the future in his "Space Tourism" solo show of digital photos at Tyler Gallery. As he playfully sees it, scientific expeditions will have given way to hordes of tourists crowding the scene - an ethnic cross section of newlyweds, college students, children grimacing at the camera, and ordinary sightseers rather than heroic astronauts. Viewers are left to ponder the political and social implications of such conquest of outer space. One does not expect any special intelligence in work such as this. So all the more is our surprise on encountering Itagaki's challenge to us to consider what the future may bring. Besides, his chosen medium, photography, already had played a crucial role in space exploration. Seamlessly, then, he offers a continuing probe." Victoria Donohoe, The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
, 11/2000 - "Through the miracle of digital technology, this Japanese-born New York artist produces photomontages depicting ordinary tourists on the moon, with the earth looming over the horizon in every case. In another series, tourists are inserted into video game scenes. Something about the disconnected rootlessness of modern life is implied." Ken Johnson (art critic)Ken Johnson (art critic)Ken Johnson is an American art critic who lives in New York. Johnson is a writer for the arts pages of The New York Times, where he covers gallery and museum exhibits....
, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, 9/2000. - "We have to at least ask the question, "what if there is no life anywhere in the universe, except here, on earth?" If we are the only living creature anywhere, well, that means there is a lot of countries out there to visit, which inspired a photographer, Yoshio Itagaki to imagine the universe as one big tourist attraction. With every new planet, in every new star, there is a photo opportunity, smile! Because if we are alone, then the universe is one big empty vacation land..." narration from Brave New World series on ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Network "NightlineNightlineNightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
" with Ted KoppelTed KoppelEdward James "Ted" Koppel is an English-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for Nightline from the program's inception in 1980 until his retirement in late 2005. After leaving Nightline, Koppel worked as managing editor for the Discovery Channel before resigning in 2008...
, 9/1999 - "Yoshio Itagaki makes us aware of a shift in public attitude toward space science and exploration that you might not have noticed, because it occurred gradually. Thirty years ago, space travel was still adventurous and even heroic. Now it's so routine that we hardly notice when a space shuttle takes off or lands. Space travel has been domesticated to the point that the danger and technological wizardry have become banal, if not invisible. Itagaki offers a composite photo that would have seemed fantastic a half-century ago - a Japanese wedding party posed on the moon, with earth rising in the background. We've seen the original picture of the site so many times that now it's just as amusing curiosity." Edward J. Sozanski, The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
, 12/2000 - "Yoshio Itagaki uses digital means to play on humorous stereotypes. Whether Japanese weddings, banished Native Americans or global tourists, Itagaki photographs images of people being photographed on the moon. The lunar backdrop and visible image of the Earth are incidental to those being photographed, reflecting humans essential egocentric nature." Barbara Bloemink, director of The Guggenheim MuseumGuggenheim Hermitage MuseumThe Guggenheim Hermitage Museum was a museum in The Venetian, one of the world's largest hotels in Paradise, Nevada, located on the Strip in Las Vegas, USA. It was designed by Rem Koolhaas, opened October 7, 2001, and added three more collections and exhibits subsequent to its opening...
Las Vegas 2/2002