Text/Editor:Mariko Idehara
Translation:Karolina Höglind
Photo:Miri Matsufuji (Exhibition Photo:Taku Sato)
今回の展示のテーマ” “Plans Are For the Poor ” について教えてください。
意味は、“計画することは、貧しい人のためのもの。貧しいというのは、お金とか物質的に貧しいわけではなくて、心の貧しさのこと。何でも計画して進んでいくことよりも何も決めないで行くほうが、いろんな発見があったりあったかもしれないゴールを超えて新しいところに行けたりするから人生が豊かになっていくよね”っていうこと。映画監督の言葉らしいです。本当にこの2年間プランも何もないまま過ごして、今もNYと日本を行き来してながら来月どちらにいるかわからないみたいな状態。だからこの言葉が私にぴったりだなって。
撮影する時、どんな気持ちでシャッターを切っているんですか？
最近わからないんですよね。写真によって自然に撮影したり、場所だけ見て「あ、そこ立って」っていって撮影するときもあったり。昔は意識していい写真を撮ろうとか、かっこいい写真を撮ろうとか思っていたけれど、この2、3年そういう意識がなくなって、、、意図的に考えないというよりは本当に何にも考えないで、気持ちいいな、素敵だなと思ったときに撮っていますね。今回の展覧会を企画していただいた中村譲二さんからは「何も考えて撮ってないでしょ、でもそれが逆にいいんじゃない」とも言われました。全然人に見せようと思って撮っていた写真たちじゃなかったから、まさにそうだなって思いました。
今回は人や景色、さまざまなものを撮られていますね。
やっぱり自分の基本的なところに戻るけれど、思い入れのある瞬間とかちゃんとストーリーが背景にある写真、意味のある写真。ただ画としてビジュアル的にかっこいいとか面白いではなくて、ちゃんと自分にとって意味のある写真を撮影していますね。
一番この中で印象的な写真はどれですか？
あえて言うなら、メインでギャラリーのwebにも掲載している写真かな。これは今までとは違って、わりとポストカード的な写真の一枚だと思います。皆でプロジェクトをやっていた時にそれが終わって外に出たらこの景色だったんです。人には分からないけど、その時の自分と繋がっている一枚。写真の背景(ストーリー)に関しては、個展にむけてZINEを作って、そこに全部背景を書こうかなって思いました。展示は、自分の目だけで見てもらって、またそれとは別に後からそれを読んでもらえばわかるように。
最初に自分で感じてもらったことや想像してもらったことと答え合わせをする訳ではないけれど、実はこうだったんだよっていうのをできるようにしたいです。
ZINEっていうのはみりさんにとって自己を表現するのに大事なものですか？
自己表現というより作品の一つだから、例えば、ミュージシャンがシングルを出す、アルバムを出す、ライブをやるっていうことがあるように、アーティストにとってもいろんなタイプの表現があって個展はライブやコンサートを出すような感覚。ZINEはシングルを出す感じでそれがもっと大きくなって写真集や画集になるとアルバムを出すような感覚だと思っています。
ZINEと写真集もまた違うんですね。
はい、そうです。ZINEというのは、人によって違うと思うけれど私の場合はその一つのテーマのようなもので、作品集みたいにまとまっているものというよりかは、短い期間の作品やある一定のプロジェクトだけをまとめたものですね。
作品の中でも、犬の写真が印象的でした！
そうですね、大好き！今は、食と犬にしか興味がないくらい(笑)昔よりも犬を撮ることが多くなったかな。
今回の展示に関していうと、今までと違うのは、選び方やテーマは自分の好きなものという意味では、そんなに変わらないけれど、今回は素直に好きな写真を選んで、そのざっくり選んだ中でキュレーターとギャラリストの方とさらに絞りましたね。お2人が結構、「犬の写真がいいね」ってすごく言ってくれて。今までは犬の写真は個人的な趣味で撮っていたものだから、見せてもみんなは別に何とも思わないかなって思っていたんです。「ただかわいいいじゃん、犬好きなんだね」で終わりかと思っていたので、あんまり面白味がないんじゃないかな、ウケがよくないかなと。でも今回素直に選んだので、自然と大好きな犬の写真が多くなって。そのように見てくれて、いいんじゃないって言ってくれたのが今までと違うかな。犬を見せるきっかけになったかなと私は思います。
今回の展示に来てくれる方にメッセージを送るとしたら？
意味とかを考えずに、気持ちいいかだけでみてほしいです。私もそういうふうに撮っているから。正解はないし、見るたびに感想が違ってもいい。今回すべての作品に撮った時に感じた私の気持ちがそこには入っているけれど、見る人もその時その時で感じるものが違ってもいいかなと思います。
●松藤 美里（マツフジミリ）
1991年生まれ。東京生まれ、現在も東京を拠点に活動
明治学院大学卒。写真家
●Solo Exhibition“Plans Are For the Poor ” by Miri Matsufuji | 松藤 美里
curated by 企画協力: Joji Nakamura | 中村 穣ニ
会期:2018. Feb 10(Sat.) – Feb 24(Sat.)
open: 11:00-19:00 (Tue-Sat) Closed : Sunday, Monday, Holidays
会場: CLEAR EDITION & GALLERY, Tokyo
東京都港区六本木7-18-8-2F
tel : +81 3 3405 8438
http://www.clearedition.jp/web/plansareforthepoor-3269.html
Introduce your newest exhibition “Plans are for the Poor”.
Just like the title implies, it is about planning is something that exists for people who are poor. And by poor, I don’t mean the people who don’t have money or things, but about being poor when it comes to your own heart. Rather than just moving forward according to plan, to not set anything in stone and just go with the flow will allow you to discover new things. Instead of reaching that goal that you might have been aiming for, which might not even exist, you can reach even further, and reach new places. Therefore your life might have an even more enriched life. This is the message behind it. It was actually originally something said by a movie director. For me these words couldn’t be more perfect as I’ve been living my last 2 years without any plans. Right now I’m going back and forth to New York all the time, and next month I don’t know where I am going to be.
During photoshoots, with what emotion do you press the shutter?
Lately I don’t really know. Depending on the photograph, if I want to take natural photograph, or if I see a certain place and ask the model to ‘stand over there!’, so there are various kinds of photoshoots.
I used to be a lot more conscious about wanting to take a good photo, or I was thinking that I wanted to take a really cool one. But during these past 2, 3 years I’m thinking a lot less when taking photos. Rather than not just being intentional with planning parts of my photos, I’m just really not thinking anything but rather letting my feeling steer me. When I see something that I feel is nice, that’s when I press the shutter.
For this exhibition when I was contacted by the curator Mr.George Nakamura and we were talking, he said to me “You’re not really not thinking about anything when taking the photos, are you?” and “But on the other hand, that might actually be a good thing”. These photos weren’t taken with the intention of showing them to people, so I guess he was correct.
Yeah because for this exhibition, your subject varies from everything from people to scenery photos, right.
Yes, and once again this brings me back to who I am as a person, since they portray something that I feel some emotional attachment to, or something that has a background, and context. A photo with a meaning. I’m not just photographing things that looks cool visually, but something that really has some meaning to me.
Amongst the photos in the exhibition, which do you think leaves the strongest impression?
If I’d have to choose, then I’d say the main photos that are up on the gallery web as well. That as well as a rather postcard-like photo, which is pretty different from what I’ve taken before. It’s from a time when I was working on a project with tome people, and after we finished I went out and saw this scenery. So people won’t know it, but for me it is a picture that connects me with that time.
About the story behind photos, I have been working on a ZINE as the exhibition has drawn closer, in which I’ve planned to write down all the backstories. First at the exhibition people can see the photos through their own eyes, and afterwards they can look back on it and understand the stories behind them all.
It’s not to compare right and wrong between with what they saw and felt when seeing the photos for the first time, but rather I want to give the opportunity to later see just what actually happened.
Is ZINE something that is important to you as a method of self-expression?
Rather than self-expression, it is a kind of artwork. For example a musician releases singles, and albums, and they to concerts, so these are all ways for them to express themselves. This goes for any artist and a solo-exhibition feels something like doing a live or a concert. There I think that a ZINE could be compared to releasing a single, where the bigger project would be a photobook, similar to an album for musicians.
So ZINE and a Photobook is something very different for you?
Yes I think so. A ZINE is different from person to person, but for me it’s different from working with a theme and create a collection of works, but rather something from a short period of time, or something put together from one small project.
Amongst your photos, the dog ones left quite the impression!
Yes, I love dogs! Right now I think my only interests are dogs and food basically, haha! I think I’m taking more dog photos recently, compared to what I used to.
For this exhibition, the photos being about things that I like haven’t really changed, but what is different this time is that I’ve just honestly chosen the photos that I like. From the pictures that I picked out on a whim, based on my emotions, I further picked out the photos to exhibit with the help of a gallerist and a curator. There they both complimented me a lot on the photos of dogs. Up until now I just took photos of dogs because it was my personal interest, and I didn’t show it to people just because I didn’t think they would really care. “Sure, they are cute. You really like dogs, yeah.” Is what I imagined people would say, and then that would be it. I didn’t see anything interesting about the photos, and I didn’t think people would receive them well. But since I chose pictures following my heart this time, and since I love dogs, there are a lot of photos of dogs and the nature. Having people looking at these photos and showing appreciation towards them is what I guess is different from my earlier exhibitions. You could say it became my opportunity to show my photos of dogs.
Do you have a message for the people coming to see your exhibition?
I want you to try not to overthink. Just watch it with your feelings. Because that’s the way I took the photos. There is no right and wrong, so even if your impression or thoughts are different, then that is okey. All of the photos on display are full of the emotions I felt at that moment, but that doesn’t mean that the person watching it can’t feel anything different right there, in that moment.
●Miri Matsufuji
Photographer.Born in Tokyo, in 1991. Currently based in Tokyo.
Graduated from Meiji Gakuin Univ.
●Solo Exhibition“Plans Are For the Poor ” by Miri Matsufuji
curated by: Joji Nakamura
Term:2018. Feb 10(Sat.) – Feb 24(Sat.)
open: 11:00-19:00 (Tue-Sat) Closed : Sunday, Monday, Holidays
Place: CLEAR EDITION & GALLERY, Tokyo
東京都港区六本木7-18-8-2F
tel : +81 3 3405 8438
http://www.clearedition.jp/web/plansareforthepoor-3269.html
