8-gatsu 2-ka Yamanoue Hoteru [August 2nd, Hilltop Hotel]. First edition. Numerous photographic plates. Small 4to. Original printed wrappers in dustwrapper (minor wear), book-block broken, but overall still a good copy. 308pp. Tokyo, Shashin Hyoron Sha, 1972.
Moriyama is most noted for his photos taken during the turbulent 1960s and early 1970s. The photos were called "bure boke" (blurred and out-of-focus) in reference to his shooting technique. The other side of his approach takes place in the dark-room where the images are manipulated in a way that results in high contrast prints with a harsh coarse grain. This rough style became somewhat of a trademark and found wide appeal with a generation of youths and students. 'Goodbye to photography' was produced as a result of a discussion Moriyama had with Nakahira Takuma in the Hilltop Hotel on the August 2nd. Their dialogue is printed on the text pages. The two had been friends since 1964 and both had contributed to 'Provoke' magazine. The argument centred on the function of photography to reflect reality. 'Sayonara' means: No framing, no focus, no subject, even the photographer himself seems to disappear underneath the seemingly random images. This book is an icon of it's time.
