KEN DOMON

For the first time ever outside Japan, an exhibition of work by Ken Domon (1909–90), recognized as a master of realism and one of the most important figures in the history of modern Japanese photography, is being held in Rome at the Museo dell'Ara Pacis.

It features about 150 photographs taken in black and white as well as colour between the 1920s and the 1970s, which illustrate the author's path towards social realism. From the first shots of the period before and during World War II, which display a vision linked to photojournalism and propaganda, through photography of the social sphere, the exhibit follows Ken Domon's production up to the crucial work documenting the tragedy of Hiroshima, which the photographer undertook as though in response to a call and a humanitarian duty.