(日本語版は下の方にあります)

Howard Weitzman Photo Exhibition:
Asakusa Unmasked
Part 1: Monday, Jun 21 – Sunday, July 4, 2021
Part 2: Monday, July 5 – Sunday July 18, 2021


It was July of 2020. Tokyo was basically on lockdown from the Corona pandemic. I (and many others) had been working from home for the last few months. This was not a time I felt I could take "street photographs". I had not even picked up my camera in many months.

But that day I wanted a change of atmosphere. So, donning my facemask, I got on the train, and headed for old Asakusa. It was a warm Saturday, and when I got there, I was surprised that things seemed to have changed. Of course, because of the pandemic, everything in the world had changed. But in recent years, Asakusa in particular had been filled at least 50% with foreign tourists. Now, due to Japan’s borders being essentially closed to foreign tourists, the place seemed to have reverted to its original state -- Japanese. Young couples and young women who might have been going stir crazy (like me) had donned yukatas and made the trip to the old shrine. When I asked why they had done this, some told me that because the festivals and fireworks had been cancelled this year, they wanted to wear traditional clothes and go somewhere. I was also inspired. And I took out my camera.

For the next 6 months, until January 2021, I travelled to Asakusa a few times a week, and photographed people I met. Many of my subjects gripped a mask in their hands, and wore a mask covering their face, but for just a moment I asked them to take off all of their "masks" and to let me photograph them just as they were.

In a sense, this was a unique chance. These days, on the street, one can no longer see the faces of those around them, which are covered in masks. In these photographs, for at least for a moment, my subjects bared their true face to me. For this, I am grateful -- for allowing me to see Asakusa Unmasked.
 
Howard Weitzman, born in 1967 in New Jersey (USA), is a Tokyo-based photographer. Solo exhibitions include:

2011 “Facing Shibuya” （Place M and M2 Gallery）
2012 “Facing Shibuya” （Nikon Salon, Ginza）
2013 “Kabukicho Nights” （M2 Gallery)
2015 “Yokohama Bench” （RED Photo Gallery)
2016 “Ohh! Shibuya” （RED Photo Gallery)
2017 “Ohh! Yoyogi” （RED Photo Gallery)
2018 “Ohh! Shibuya 2” （RED Photo Gallery)
2019 “Facing Shibuya – End of the Heisei Era” （RED Photo Gallery)
2021 “Asakusa Unmasked” (RED Photo Gallery)



Prints available for purchase.
16*20 silver gelatin prints, edition of 10 each, JPY 38,000.






ハワード　ワイツマン写真展:
Asakusa Unmasked
その１:2021年6月21日(月)　～　7月4日(日)
その2: 2021年7月5日(月)　～　7月18日(日)

COVID-19により、２０２０年３月、世界中で国境閉鎖が始まりました。

日本も漏れず大きな打撃を受け、外国からの観光客の入国制限により観光客をみかけることがなくなり、マスクをつけての外出が当たり前となりました。

COVID-１９の第１波が落ち着き始めた７月。私がマスクをつけ、気分転換のために浅草まで足を運んだ日のことです。いつもは外国人の観光客で賑わっていた浅草の光景が一変していました。人の数も少なく、ほとんどが日本人。その日から、浅草を訪れている日本人の撮影を開始しました。

ソーシャルディスタンスを保ちながら、写真をとるわずかな時間だけマスクを外し、代わりにマスク（お面）を持っての撮影となりました。ほんの数秒という、わずかな時間でしたが「Unmasked」(面をつけてないまま)の状態で撮ることができ、一瞬だけ、マスク無しで、その人の本質を垣間見ることができました。

この写真展は、２０２０年７月から２０２１年１月までの浅草を訪れた人のポートレートシリーズです。
 
ハワード・ワイツマン(1967年)はアメリカのニュージャージー州生まれ、東京に住んでいる写真家です。今までの展示会は下記の通りです:

2011年「Facing Shibuya」（Place M and M2 Gallery）
2012年「Facing Shibuya」（Nikon Salon, Ginza）
2013年「Kabukicho Nights」（M2 Gallery)
2015年「Yokohama Bench」（RED Photo Gallery)
2016年「Ohh! Shibuya」（RED Photo Gallery)
2017年「Ohh! Yoyogi」（RED Photo Gallery)
2018年「Ohh! Shibuya 2」（RED Photo Gallery)
2019年「Facing Shibuya – 平成の終わり」（RED Photo Gallery)
2021年「Asakusa Unmasked」(RED Photo Gallery)