On omnipresent photography：Yoshihiko Ueda’s Unwavering Consistency: The Grand Journey in Progress

The photo exhibition "Yoshihiko Ueda: From the Hip" currently being held at the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Hayama (July 19 - November 3), overwhelms visitors with the sheer number of works, the quality of the prints, and the meticulous organization of the venue — everything about the exhibition is of extraordinary quality. It is truly stunning. I would call it a feast for the eyes.

"But it’s not a retrospective", says Yoshihiko Ueda. I sat down to speak with him at the museum's café in Hayama, and soon it became clear that for him, this large-scale exhibition is more like a "midterm report". According to Ueda: "Even the Tibet series being exhibited as new works isn’t completed yet — it’s still a journey in progress. Rather, I feel it’s just the beginning of it".

Yoshihiko Ueda’s name needs no explanation. Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1957, he has handled numerous campaigns for companies such as Suntory Oolong Tea, Suntory Green Tea, and Muji, and published over 30 photo books. He has held many gallery exhibitions, but this is his first show at a public museum in 22 years since his solo exhibition at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum in 2003.

This exhibition provides an overview of Ueda's 40-year career through about 500 works. It spans unpublished early works, the "QUINAULT" series capturing Native Americans’ sacred forests, "at Home" showing intimate family moments, the "Portrait" series of celebrities, and the latest series photographed in Tibet — each developed and printed by Ueda himself. These represent the entirety of his career.

Ueda’s photography is often noted for his use of large format cameras like the 8×10 and distinctive lighting. This exhibition, showing works taken with various cameras, reveals a remarkable consistency across his career. Still lifes, made using various types of cameras, remind of French Impressionist paintings. “The early pomegranate photo was shot with an 8×10 camera, but the recent apple photo was taken with a Ricoh GR. Yet the impression doesn't change much, does it? That's because what I seek in photography hasn't changed”.

In line with the proverb “A good workman never blames his tools”, Ueda can create his unique, dense, and tranquil photographic world regardless of subject or camera. It's similar to how David Hockney presents a consistent world using everything from acrylics to pencils, now even iPads. Ueda says it’s a great joy for him if people see his early and recent photographs as “all the same”.

“When I first started photography, I pondered, ‘Is it possible to take a photograph that captures even what lies beneath the surface of the subject?’ I always wanted to capture what can’t be seen. I had an excessive expectation of photographs, and that expectation has never entirely been fulfilled　—　it remains so even now. The exhibition title comes from that feeling. With a camera, I want to get closer to the essence of the world, but the closer I try to get, the more the world seems to recede. Of course, sometimes there’s joy in feeling I’ve captured the essence, but it’s rare. Taking photos is a continual struggle with that feeling”.

Holding the exhibition in Hayama means a lot to Ueda, who after years of living between Tokyo and Hayama, made a full move there three years ago. Yuichiro Takashima, curator at the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, describes how this exhibition came about:

“The fact that Yoshihiko Ueda hadn’t held an exhibition at any museum for almost 20 years made it possible for us to realize something unique to this moment and space. Also, by displaying both his art and commercial photography, we thought it might reveal new aspects of being a modern photographer. But above all, we wanted to show the ‘at Home’ series taken in Hayama. The museum’s high ceilings allowed us to organically assemble the photographs, which visually manifest Ueda’s non-linear, multi-layered nature work within the space. In each exhibition room, the display and lighting change slightly, but overall, the exhibition is a harmonious, grand piece of music”.

Ueda's long-time collaborator, Kaoru Kasai, who was the art director for Suntory Oolong Tea campaigns, also designed the massive exhibition catalog (768 pages!). Kasai, reflecting on Ueda’s photography, says:

“Around 40 years ago, I saw Ueda’s solo exhibition “Portrait” and immediately felt it was unlike anything I’d ever seen. It seemed like with the gradients of silver he captured the quiet light emitted from each person. Back then, I was proposing a newspaper ad series for Suntory Whisky, featuring portraits of writers and distillers, and immediately thought: this is the photographer for us. Ueda said he’d never done commercial photography, but that didn’t matter at all. His first job was photographing German literature scholar Yoshitaka Takahashi. When it appeared in a newspaper, it felt like a new door opened for me. For the Oolong Tea campaign we took with local youth in China, even though it was all thoroughly planned, the shoot became spontaneous — Ueda’s sensitivity captured that moment as a precious memory”.

For Ueda, a key reference for photography exhibitions is Irving Penn’s 1984 MoMA show. “I saw Penn’s exhibition at 27 and was shocked twice: first by how he could photograph literally anything, and second by how much he loved photography. Everything was distinctly Penn, no matter the subject. I was so excited I couldn’t even look — my legs were shaking. I had to leave and come back the next day. Seeing Penn’s exhibition reassured me: this is the right direction. As a photographer, Penn’s way of life is a way of life I deeply respect”.

I myself saw Penn’s posthumous exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2017. The volume and quality, the diversity of subjects, and above all the strong consistency left a deep impression. If Penn can be seen as NY’s high-resolution image converter, then Ueda is Tokyo's (or maybe Hayama’s) equivalent for the world. But Ueda’s images also have a delicate emotion not found in Penn’s. The exhibition offers an experience enveloped in Ueda’s delicate yet grand orchestration.

Exhibition curator Takashima adds: “This exhibition is less about photographic history and more about art history. The beautiful compositions, universal themes, era-defining people, carefully selected frames, considered printing, and sizing all combine in the space organically, making it as much a painting exhibition or even an installation”.

The exhibition is structured so that you retrace Ueda’s career, from recent works back to his earliest photos.

Kasai says: “The catalog is structured like the exhibition, moving backward from the present through studies, commercial, and private photos. It reveals that Ueda’s life mirrors the images he captured — both run along a single thread. Seeing the entirety, you feel Ueda has treasured every moment. I laid out the pictures as if in a catalog, in a matter-of-fact, restrained way. Having read Ueda’s texts that are also included, I was certain this was the right approach”.

Just as Penn was a guiding light for young Japanese photographers, Ueda is now a reference point for young photographers in Asia and the world. As noted in my sixth column of this series (July 20, 2023), Leslie Zhang, an internationally prominent Shanghai-based photographer, is one such example. This young Chinese photographer openly acknowledges the strong influence of Yoshihiko Ueda. His work for Parco’s annual campaign this year almost feels like an homage to Ueda’s Suntory Oolong Tea ads.

“The curator told me after seeing the show: ‘It feels like seeing a MoMA exhibition’. I'm delighted, that's exactly what I’m aiming for. Now the exhibition may tour overseas, and I hope it can have the same impact on young people abroad as Penn’s MoMA show had on me”.