Curated by Paolo Dell’Elce

18 July – 6 September 2020

Museo Archeologico – Atri (TE)

Open everyday: 10.00 – 12.00 / 16.30 – 19.30 / 21.00 – 23.00

Closed on Monday Morning

 

For over twenty years, starting from the ‘80s, Yoko Yamamoto has explored, through her feminine eye, the suggestive world of Geisha living in the community of Tokio. Her complex and detailed iconographic study unveils a profound point of view on Geishas, which have been erroneously compared to prostitutes by the common opinion since Edo period (1603-1868). A misinterpretation spread through the arts and nourished by the occidental stereotypes.

The word “Geisha” is composed by two kanji: Gei, meaning Art and Sha, which means Person. A Geisha is a person identified in the aesthetic dimension, educated to artistic representation and languages as dance, music, acting and conversation. The occidental stereotype of “sexual toys” in which these women have been trapped is so far from their real nature. Through her sapient photographic work, Yoko Yamamoto wants to debunk this false and decayed iconography. Her art-pieces highlight the peculiarity of the aesthetic person: that profound dimension of the human being, closer to the beauty and the ontological essence of the feminine.

Yoko Yamamoto

Yoko Yamamoto, one of the most successful Japanese photographers, was born in Yokkaichi, in 1955. After graduating in Archeology in 1978, she started studying Photography at the Institute of Contemporary Photography of Tokyo in 1983, guided by Masao Tanaka and Shinzo Hanabusa. In 1991, she moved to Arles to study with Lucien Clergies and Bernard Plossu. She collaborated with prestigious Japanese magazines as Asahi Graph and The Sun. From 1991 to 2009, she held exhibitions all around the world.