Jun Abe (阿部 淳, Abe Jun, born 1955)[1] is a Japanese street photographer and educator who lives and works in Osaka. As of autumn 2014, he has produced six books of photographs of people in cities, including Citizens: 1979–1983, which won the Society of Photography Award. He was the official photographer of the butoh dance group Byakko-sha (白虎社) from 1982 to 1994.
Life and work
Abe was born in Osaka.[1] He studied photography at Ōsaka Shashin Senmon Gakkō (now Visual Arts Osaka).[2]
From 1982 to 1994 he was the official photographer for Byakko-sha (白虎社), a butoh dance group based in Kyoto.[3][4] In this capacity he travelled extensively in 1982 and 1983.[1]
From 2002 Abe has taught at the Visual Arts Osaka college.[2] He has been a member of the Osaka-based photography collective running Vacuum Press since 2006.[2] Since 2013 he has been represented by Hatten Gallery.[2]
Publications
クリーチャーズ ...... 神の獣たち = Kurīchāzu: Kami no kemono-tachi = Creaturers.[n 1] Village, 1989. ISBN4-938598-04-3. Black and white photographs; essay by Isamu Ōsuka (大須賀勇) and artist chronology in Japanese.
市民: 1979–1983 = Citizens: 1979–1983. Osaka: Vacuum, 2009. ISBN9784990328832. Vacuum Press 4. Black and white photographs; no captions or other text.[n 3]
黒白ノート: 1996–1999 = Kokubyaku nōto: 1996–1999 = Black & white note: 1996–1999. Osaka: Vacuum, 2010. ISBN9784990328856. Vacuum Press 5. Black and white photographs; no captions or other text.[n 4]
マニラ: August, 1983 = Manira: August, 1983 = Manila: August, 1983. Osaka: Vacuum, 2011. ISBN9784990328887. Vacuum Press 7. Black and white photographs; no captions or other text.[n 5]
黒白ノート・2 = Kokubyaku nōto: 2 = Black & white note 2. Osaka: Vacuum, 2012. OCLC827210141. Vacuum Press 9. Black and white photographs; no captions or other text.[n 6]
2001. Osaka: Vacuum, 2013. OCLC870254914. Vacuum Press 11. Black and white photographs; no captions or other text.[n 7]
Busan. Osaka: Vacuum, 2014. Black and white photographs.[n 8]
1981＜上＞ = 1981 (jō) = 1981: Top.[n 9] Osaka: Vacuum, 2015. Vacuum Press 14. First volume of a two-volume set. Black and white photographs.[n 10]
1981＜下＞ = 1981 (ge) = 1981: Bottom.[n 9] Osaka: Vacuum, 2015. Vacuum Press 15. Second volume of a two-volume set. Black and white photographs.[n 11]
^The colophon shows the short Japanese title クリーチャーズ (Kurīchāzu) alone. The subtitle 神の獣たち (Kami no kemono-tachi) appears nowhere other than the title page. Creaturers [sic] appears on the front cover and title page and also in the list of exhibitions. It appears to be a mistake, because (if it rhymed with "treasurers"), "creaturers" would have different katakana (most likely クリーチュラーズ); as it is, the pronunciation of the Japanese title matches that of "creatures".
^The publisher's page about Ōsaka (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014) is here.
^The publisher's page about Citizens (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 3 April 2016) is here.
^The publisher's page about Black & white note (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014) is here.
^The publisher's page about Manila (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014) is here.
^The publisher's page about Black & white note 2 (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014) is here.
^The publisher's page about 2001 (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 8 September 2014) is here.
^The publisher's page about Busan (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 3 April 2016) is here.
^ ab"Top" is a literal translation of jō (上) in other contexts; and "bottom" is a literal translation of ge (下) in other contexts. In this context, jō and ge simply mean volumes 1 and 2 respectively of a two-volume work. (As is common for two-volume works in Japan, the two are priced and sold separately.)
^The publisher's page about 1981: Top (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 3 April 2016) is here.
^The publisher's page about 1981: Bottom (as archived by the Wayback Machine on 3 April 2016) is here.
