Shomei Tomatsu: Skin of the Nation

Shomei Tomatsu: Skin of the Nation at SFMOMA. "...Little known outside his home country, Shomei Tomatsu is widely considered the most important figure in Japanese postwar photography. His photographs span more than 50 years, examining, in an absolutely personal and unique vision, the island nation in the years since World War II. Cinematic in scope and presentation, the approximately 240 photographs on view in Skin of the Nation — the first major American retrospective of Tomatsu’s work — provide a candid look at the aftereffects of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, the influence of American military and popular culture, and the impact of the post-1960s economic boom in Japan. Comprising black-and-white as well as color pictures, the exhibition conveys a quiet brilliance, celebrating the photographer's uncompromising regard toward a complex, nuanced subject."