Tokyo Questions

Aaron Stokke
Sadashivan – Representation

Tokyo Photograph Sequence Questions P. 370

3. If all that I knew about Tokyo came from the few photographs in the sequence Sightwalk by Gueorgui Pinkhassov, I would be left wanting to know many more things about the city. There are only four photographs in the sequence, and they definitely do not give the viewer a very detailed view of the city. I believe that the photographer chose to show these four photographs as a way to show how he personally adjusted to the city. They show how at first he felt confused by all that he had to take in, and slowly the photographer saw similarities between both his culture and Japanese culture. The photographs do not show any clear images of people, city streets, markets, places of employment, city parks, or very much else about the city at all for that matter. The photographer did a good job at expressing his own personal feelings about Tokyo and Japan, but did not do a good job at all of showing any of the physical aspects of the city. The photographs basically tell me nothing about Tokyo, other than down inside, the people there are much like us.

7. I believe that if the photographs that Pinkhassov chose to put in his sequence to represent Tokyo were in a different order, the viewer would not see the message that Pinkhassov wanted them to see in his art. The photographs show a basic progression of slowly coming to realize that the Japanese culture is very similar to his own. The first photograph shows confusion; there are no distinguishable characters in the photograph. The second photograph shows an introduction to the actual culture. I believe that by showing people all fuzzy from behind the wall, the photographer shows that although he sees people around him, he doesn’t understand them or their culture. The third photograph shows Japanese people at work, and even one on a cell phone. This photograph shows that the people in Tokyo all go to work, and wear suits, and even talk on cellular phones, just like he does. They are pictured in a much brighter light, symbolizing that he is starting to feel a connection. The fourth and final photograph shows several people strolling down a street at night, the streetlights lighting their way. This photograph represents the photographer finally realizing that although he cannot understand the language, deep down, the people in Tokyo are really just like him inside. They do the same things at work, and they do the same things in recreation. If the photographs were organized differently they would not convey any sort of clear message, and the whole sequence would be basically worthless.