(1905–1988) was a Japanese photographer noted for his photograms and work in other techniques that were avant-garde at the time. Otono was born in 1905 in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. After graduating from Osaka City Public East Commercial High School, he started working at the

Yamaguchi Bank The is a regional bank in Japan, primarily in the Yamaguchi Prefecture. It has 156 branches and offices in Japan and four overseas offices. The bank's history dates back to 1878 when its predecessor, the Hyakuju (110th) National Bank was founde ...

. In 1930, he began to participate in activities of the Tampei Photography Club and various other Japanese photography salons. A curator of the

Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography The is an art museum concentrating on photography. As the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, it was founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and is in Meguro-ku, a short walk from Ebisu station in southwest Tokyo. The museum also ...

, Akiko Okatsuka, notes that “Otono Sutezo and Ei-Q stand out among the many Japanese photographers who explored the possibilities of the photogram technique.” Otono worked with these avant-garde photography techniques before World War II; and Okatsuka expands on Otono’s impact on the legacy of amateur photography clubs that would develop later in the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

area:

As the Showa era began, photographers became interested in techniques that made use of the distinctive characteristics of the photograph – photomontage, photograms, and infrared photography, for instance. A steady stream of experimental photographs with new content appeared. . . . Three hotographerswho deserve special note were
NAKAYAMA Iwata was a Japanese avant-garde photographer. Nakayama was born in Yanagawa, Fukuoka (Japan). His wife, Nakayama Masako (中山正子) became an English language educator after their years aboard. His father was an inventor who held a patent for a fi ...
, OTONO Sutezo and
KOISHI Kiyoshi (March 26, 1908 - July 7, 1957) was one of the most prominent Japanese photographers in the first half of the 20th century. He was born in Osaka and became a member of the Naniwa Photography Club in 1928. In 1933 he published the monograph ''Sh ...
. The foundation on which they build their vast bodies of work were the amateur photographers’ clubs found throughout the country, such as the '' Naniwa Shashin Club'', the '' Tanpei Shashin Club'' and the ''Ashiya Camera Club'' in the Kansai. . . .

His works have been shown internationally at Paris Photo and are included in the permanent collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Exhibitions

* 1995: ''The Founding and Development of Modern Photography in Japan'',

* 2018: ''Past Present Future: Building Photography at the New Orleans Museum of Art'', New Orleans Museum of Art * 2022: ''Avant-Garde Rising - The Photographic Vanguard in Modern Japan'', Tokyo Photographic Art Museum

References

External links

* Russell Lord,
Sutezo Otono
, New Orleans Museum of Art {{DEFAULTSORT:Otono, Sutezo 1905 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Japanese photographers People from Osaka Date of death missing