Through February 5

Our Dream Big exhibition will be up at L2Kontemporary through February 5, 2011.

Gallery hours are Thursday to Sunday, 1 - 6 pm.

L2Kontemporary
990 N. Hill St. #205
Los Angeles, CA 90012
323-225-1288

Thanks to everyone for asking questions about the work, so that we'd have something to blog about!

Acting debut?

Q: Who is the actress in "Film Actress, Hakone?"

A: We're not sure. We couldn't read the TV guide. If anyone recognizes her, please comment.

Drive, She Said

Q: Are there a lot of female bus drivers in Japan?

A: With all the buses we rode (dozens), we only saw one female driver, the subject of this photo, entitled, "Bus Driver, Kyoto." And an excellent driver she was.

Food for Thought

Q: Why are so many of your subjects working in food service?

A: First, in our travels, we encountered a lot of food service workers. Second, most of the food service workers we encountered were women.
Third, most of the jobs available to Japanese women are in the food, retail and service industries, traditionally the lowest paying jobs.
Fourth, since the subject of this photographic series is working women of Japan, ...

A Yen for Japanese food?

Q: Why does the woman in "Restaurant Worker, Nara" look so unhappy?

A: We have 2 theories on this:

1.) The restaurant has very low prices. Low prices = low wages = unhappiness?

2.) She's not unhappy; she's stoic.

Mother, may I?

Q: In your photo, "Mother, Tokyo," which one is the mother?

A: Who knows? There were two similarly dressed women sharing one baby carriage and one baby. Our guess is the mother was the one left holding the baby.

Gift Gardener

Q: What's growing in the gift garden?

A: This is obviously a gift shop in a train station, not an actual garden, so nothing grows there.

Except gifts.

Any fan of Anpanman...

Q: What does an anpan cook cook?

A: An anpan, as any fan of Anpanman will tell you, is a bean cake. Most anpans are round (like Anpanman's head), but these are fish-shaped. The subject of this photo, "Anpan Cook, Tokyo," was the woman in the back of the kitchen. She had just finished beating some Anpan batter and was briefly resting her hands.

Cat Food

Q: Where was this shot taken?

A: We shot  "Gyoza Cook, Tokyo" in a Gyoza Museum in a hard-to-describe place called Namja Town in a mall in Tokyo. This woman works in one of 20 gyoza eateries overseen by a creepy cartoon gangster cat (Namja).

Say Cheese?

Q: Why was this woman smiling?

A: It was starting to rain and the subject of "Tea House Hostess, Kyoto" was trying to leave for the day, but tourists kept accosting her and demanding that she pose for a snapshot with them. She was the very picture of tolerance.

Master's Voice

Q: What makes you think these women are spokesmodels?

A: If you look closely at the left arms of the subjects in "Spokesmodels, Tokyo," you can see parts of a familiar slogan printed on their sleeves. The Victor Company of Japan (JVC) retained the trademark, "His Master's Voice," when it broke with RCA at the start of WWII. These spokesmodels are apparently bound for a trade show where they will be displaying JVC products.

At the Cross Walk

Q: I'm surprised they have Catholic schoolgirls in Japan.

A: Don't be thrown off by the crosses. That's not a Catholic schoolgirl in the photo entitled, "Maid Cafe Waitress, Tokyo." It's a maid cafe waitress on her way to work.

Tokyo has a number of these maid cafes, as they are known, where the waitresses wear french maid costumes in homage to a certain blonde, french maid, anime character.

Any Requests?

Q: Did any of your subjects ask you not to photograph them?

A: Surprisingly, no, but there was one woman who indicated a distinct interest in being photographed. She was the subject of this photograph, entitled "Sushi Vendor, Tokyo."

Some friends have speculated that Japan's camera culture has inured people to being photographed. Osoraku, kono ne wa truedesu.

Doggedness

Q: How did you get inside the room to take this picture?

A: For the photograph, "Dog Groomers, Tokyo," we weren't inside the room. These women were working in a storefront window, so we shot through the glass. In the lower right and upper left you can see reflections of the street.

The dogs seemed to appreciate their view of the outside world.

Dreaming Big

Q: Was this woman asleep when you took the picture?

A: No, actually, "Produce Vendor, Tokyo" has her eyes open. In the full size print you can see that she looks more like she's daydreaming than dreaming.

This is the first image of the series. The Dream Big t-shirt in this shot inspired an Internet search that turned up this quote from former Miss Universe Japan, Kurara Chibana: “Dream big, build self-confidence, although in Japan, that can sometimes work against you. Then, because you fear rejection, you hide your passion and eventually, it becomes difficult to hold onto your beliefs and dreams. Establish yourself around people you can trust, like friends and family, until you become self-assured.” This quote further inspired our research into unfair working conditions for Japanese women. That's how we came up with the idea for the series.

Elusive Geisha?

Q: How did you get that shot of the geisha? When I was in Kyoto, I didn't even see one.


A: Just lucky, we guess. We shot this photo in the Gion district of Kyoto in the early evening. This woman was apparently on her way to work. Simultaneously, another geisha was leaving the teahouse around the corner with a gentleman friend. He (the friend) had a bad combover.

New Blog - New Series

Welcome to the Davis & Davis Bløg. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be blogging about our new series, "Dream Big," which is now on exhibit at L2Kontemporary in Los Angeles. We will display images from the show and answer questions about the work.

Several people have asked, about this photograph, entitled "Deer Biscuit Vendor, Nara," "are the deer Photoshopped in?" 

The answer, of course, is yes. Just kidding. We shot this photo in Nara Park in Nara, Japan, home of Todajai temple, the world's largest wooden building, which houses Japan's largest bronze Buddha, Daibutsu. The 1200 free-roaming deer that live in the park are quite beautiful, with glossy coats and antlers. They seem rather tame, until you try to feed them.