ISHIUCHI MIYAKO        

 

Write down all the words that are central to the article. Looking at the words, extract the main themes the article touches on.

  • time and history
  • World War II
  • complex histories
  • “underscoring the idea that the traces of time’s passage are her true subjects”
  • “how she has negotiated a field dominated by men”
  • sexual violence
  • independent “Dragon Lady”

What research questions do you think the author asked before beginning work on this article?

Who Ishiuchi Miyako is and what main social issue she focuses on and what she has been experienced as an female Japanese photographer?

What is the thesis of the article? (What is the main idea the author wants to convey? *It should hopefully be an answer to one of the questions above.

As an female photographer who experienced the World War II, most of Ishiuchi Miyako’s work were attached to feminism and freedom. Through the Yuri Mitsuda’s interview of her, the reader can know more about how the WWII and Japanese culture influenced Ishiuchi Miyako.

 Research the author/publication of the piece. What do you think is the agenda of the article? What does it want to reader to take away from the piece?

Author: Yuri Mitsuda

This is not exactly an article, but an interview. Compare to the typical articles, interview can give readers a clearer agenda. In this interview, Yuri Mitsuda asked these questions

  1. Were you ever excluded because you were a woman?
  2. Hyakka Ryoran was an all-woman show you planned for Shimizu Gallery, wasn’t it? So you had the sense that you needed to do things as just women, as women photographers.
  3. Do you mean how Hyakka Ryoran was thought of as unsuccessful?
  4. These past ten years you’ve exhibited more and more outside Japan. Do you think that’s expanded your view on things? Were there things you encountered that surprised you?

Yuri leads direction of the whole interview, first, they talk about what Ishiuchi Miyako and what she thinks about feminism. They also mentioned a lot of typical Japanese photographers at the same time. In the end, Ishiuchi Miyako talks about her view on things after she become famous. This interview wants the readers know more about Ishiuchi Miyako’s background, the stories of her photographies and her perspectives on feminism, and freedom of art and life.

Underline all the information that needed to be researched. Create a mind map of all the different sources the author used.

Define 5-10 unfamiliar words.

  1. Permeated
  2. Prestigious
  3. Underestimated
  4. Harassment
  5. Idiotic
  6. Pigheaded

An Interview with Ishiuchi Miyako