PARASOPHIA 京都国際現代芸術祭2015

The Sekula Reader in Japan
* Participation through contributions to the exhibition catalogue

Works in exhibition
Satoshi Bamba (Niigata University)
“Introduction: The Dismal and Gay Science of Allan Sekula,” 2014–15
Essay based on academic presentation, translated from the Japanese by Christopher Stephens
Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015 exhibition catalogue, pp. 158–59
Original Japanese: Ibid., pp. 146–47

Osamu Maekawa (Kobe University)
“Against the Grain: The Photographic Theory and Practice of Allan Sekula (1951–2013),” 2014–15
Essay based on academic presentation, translated from the Japanese by Christopher Stephens
Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015 exhibition catalogue, pp. 159–62
Original Japanese: Ibid., pp. 147–50

Morihiro Satow (Professional Advisory Board; Kyoto Seika University)
“The Picture-Language of Industrial Capitalism: Allan Sekula and the Photographic Archive,” 2014–15
Essay based on academic presentation, translated from the Japanese by Christopher Stephens
Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015 exhibition catalogue, pp. 162–64
Original Japanese: Ibid., pp. 150–52

Keisuke Kitano (Professional Advisory Board; Ritsumeikan University)
“Image, Its Materiality and Circulation,” 2014–15
Essay based on academic presentation, translated from the Japanese by Christopher Stephens
Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015 exhibition catalogue, pp. 165–67
Original Japanese: Ibid., pp. 153–55

Since around 1980, Allan Sekula has been recognized not only as a photographer but also as a revolutionary theorist in the field. His essays, including “On the Invention of Photographic Meaning” (1975), “The Traffic in Photographs” (1981), “Reading an Archive: Photography between Labour and Capital” (1986), and “The Body and the Archive” (1986), are widely considered to be keystones in photographic theory after 1980. Thirty years later, Sekula’s way of thinking and practice are respectfully succeeded by artists of all generations around the world. Meanwhile, in Japan, his importance as a thinker remains relatively unknown due to the lack of translations of his key writings. There are however several readings by the few scholars of his theories in Japan that are worthy of note.
On November 8, 2014, Parasophia co-presented “Allan Sekula: Between Photography and Text, Image and Geopolitics” as part of the 9th Research Presentation of the Association for Studies of Culture and Representation at Niigata University. In this panel, professors Satoshi Bamba (Niigata University), Osamu Maekawa (Kobe University), Morihiro Satow (Kyoto Seika University; Parasophia Professional Advisory Board), and Keisuke Kitano (Ritsumeikan University; Parasophia Professional Advisory Board) presented their research as four “Sekulans” in Japan. Parasophia recognizes this valuable research as being equal to the practice of the outstanding artists in this exhibition, and the inclusion of their research in the exhibition catalogue represents Parasophia’s aims as an international festival of contemporary culture. (Full English translations of the texts by Christopher Stephens are also included in the catalogue.)