Tadanori Yokoo: Tokyo Y Junctions

世界の横尾さんが撮り続けた東京Y字路でずが、これをネタに世界の横尾さんが紹介した東京都の江戸川区を巡ってきて、おなじアングルで写真を撮ってきました。がぁー――！どうも私の写真はいまひとつ(追加の写真を参考)。やはり世界の横尾さんが撮ったものと、私のものでは比べ物になりませんでした。ほぼ同じアングルなのにね、不思議です。まあいいや、私は世界の塩田克太郎じゃないからね。この中古コンデジを使って撮りました。

Kooky conceptually, and provocative culturally, this book captured my fancy. While I realized that the pictures within would not be cartoonish representations such as found on the cover, I did expect there to be something far beyond the mundane. Afterall, the author took painstaking care to get pure shots of these supposed 'Y' junctions such that there would be nothing there but the artifact of the 'Y'. This sometimes took hours for a single shot, we are told.The problem is there is very little remarkable about the overwhelming majority of the 'Y' Junctions portrayed. In fact, I would argue that some of the 'Y's the author chose were a bit forced. A reasonable person would look at them and think, 'H'mmm, that is hardly a 'Y' Junction, It looks more like an 'Acute Angle' Junction, or a three dimensional 'L' Junction.'Also, it seems that the author played a bit fast and loose with his rules for a 'Y' Junction. For instance, is it really fair to call it a 'Y' Junction if on branch of the 'Y' is a well-paved two way street and the other is more like a dirt track with tarmac? I think I would struggle with that one if I were called upon to judge the verity of the author's 'Y's.I also think that author should have made more of an effort to explain why the 'Y' juncture is a landmark of such importance to him. It makes me suspicious that he perhaps feels that traffic circuses --devices potentially more worthy of photographic preservation for the enjoyment of posterity than 'Y' Junctions-- are beneath his dignity.Finally, I'm not sure if it was a good idea to restrict himself geographically as much as he did. For, nothing in the book indicates that the 'Y' Junctions we has memorialized are unique to the island where they are located (even though not all of the 'Y' Junctions are situated on a single island, most of them are).On the whole, the artist leaves me unconvinced but also with no desire to see more. I just don't get the point.