the work of Kyoichi Tsuzuki
And one thing is for sure: Making no compromises means offers him the possibility to investigate out of his own special interest and desire. This analysis can give only a brief overview on his broad ﾏuvre from the breakthroughing Tokyo Style to these days' Happy-Victims-exhibition held in Paris. But finally it is to show, that we can read his work as a guide to the person TSUZUKI himself - although the interview, he kindly gave to me in his office, forwarded less information about his own character than I had expected. Nevertheless, reading between the lines gives us as many hints as we need.
His work always develops in a long, enduring process. The work on the Roadside Japan took over 6 years and the research on the Roadside America he is working on right now is based on monthly trips to each state of the United States. He follows his aims with a vengeance that clearly reflects his own way of thinking and his own personal desire. But we never read in his books about him or his own house, we discover the life and environment of other people. In this sense he uses other people's devotion, otaku to a certain style, or those that are designing their private space in an artistic way. "With my photos I am showing some unknown artists. Therefore I am only the medium to show what no other media covers." And because no other media was covering it he had to do it by himself.
His approach to find these people and their spaces is very simple. He is never hunting for a location, "I never go before I should." Thus he found the places for the documentary in Tokyo Style by chance. He was told of the apartments by friends or he passed by eventually. Then he didn't arrange anything "because it was perfect as it was". Therefore we can see his very first impression of those spaces, in very pure and honest photos. No fake, but banned on celluloid with great respect to the individual's environment: "I didn't feel pity for them at all - that would have made a totally different book." Instead, he loved these places. "I envied them..." he said to me.
The same to his method of collecting the material for the Roadside Japan - and discovering one place after the other forced him to continue the exploration further and further. Again, he got infected through own devotion.
In the end the result is and was always a serial. Tsuzuki follows this principle as if it was his signature. Once again to show, that he is not presenting a single phenomena, but a widely existing cultural scene with a huge variety in colorful details.
