I my na me: Typology of Photographers (2015)
Using John Baldessari's Commissioned Paintings (1969) as a starting point, this project explores how photographic education and life as a professional photographer affect the way we see and capture the world. At the same time, it expresses the homogenization, globalization, and anonymity of the photographic industry. In commercial photography, the photographic image is oriented toward a certain ideal (idea). In commercial photography, the photographic image is oriented toward a certain ideal (idea), which has been handed down through photographic education and has evolved to give satisfaction to the client and instill a desire to buy in the consumer. By juxtaposing a certain number of images, we can see what professional photographers share in today's photographic industry.
First, I selected one city in each of the 30 countries where IKEA has a presence (as of 2015), researched photographers, and recruited participants for the project. The participating photographers were asked to buy the same type of glass (VÄNLIG glass, 48cl (16oz), 6 pac set) at their local IKEA store, look inside the glass, focus on the country of origin label, and take a photo on the theme of "everyday life. The name of each photographer was kept anonymous, and "genre of photography / camera model / city (= country of origin of the photo)" was indicated. The circles on the glass are the focus finders of the cameras and also the flags of the countries of origin of the cameras, which accounted for more than 90% of the cameras used. The meaning of the title "I my na me" is "ambiguous eyes," and it is also a personal pronoun of a huge variety unique to the Japanese language.
The title "I my na me" implies "ambiguous eyes (ai mai na me / 曖昧な目) " in Japanese and also a personal pronoun with a huge variety of meanings unique to the Japanese language. It is also a reference point to a trend that originated in a kind of naturalism, such as the private novels of the Meiji era and the "private photography" of the 1970s, in which writers confessed and described the events of their daily lives.
