Tokyo, Japan

2002

Not on view

At first glance, this bird's-eye view of Tokyo at night looks like an image of an obsessively detailed scale model. In fact, it is a photograph of the real world made by tilting and rotating the camera's lens in relation to the picture plane to achieve a very shallow depth of field with selective areas of focus. Honjo is one of a number of contemporary photographers using the "tilt-shift" technique to create disorienting images that seem to straddle reality and the make-believe world of toys. His photographs of Tokyo offer a new view of this postmodern metropolis, accentuating the fantastic artifice of the man-made environment.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Tokyo, Japan
Artist: Naoki Honjo (Japanese, born 1978)
Date: 2002
Medium: Chromogenic print
Dimensions: Image: 85.4 x 108.6 cm (33 5/8 x 42 3/4 in.)
Frame: 114.9 x 137.8 cm (45 1/4 x 54 1/4 in.)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Purchase, Vital Projects Fund Inc. Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2008
Object Number: 2008.442
Curatorial Department: Photographs

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Tokyo, Japan, Naoki Honjo Japanese, Chromogenic print — Tokyo, Japan
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