Michael Kenna

"I often think of my work as a visual haiku. It is an attempt to evoke and suggest through as few elements as possible rather than to describe with tremendous detail." -Michael Kenna

Looking at Michael Kenna's work gives me the feeling of peace and tranquility. The first word that automatically comes to mind when viewing his black and white photos is "softness." What I mean by this is his ability to shoot simple landscapes with only few objects and encouraging me to believe it is a place of great quietness (Gentle Landscape, Being, Hokkaido, Japan 2007). I feel the softness in images such as Mina, Study 2, Japan 2010 and Fumi, Study 2, Japan 2010 as well. In these, he finds ways to crop and create beautiful shapes, curved lines and negative space within the body.

Also the cropping and literal contrast of rigid buildings with clouds passing above to create an interesting/ nonconventional composition (photographed below, Notre Dame, Study 10, Paris, France 2007). What interests me the most about this image is the standing still of the building in contrast to the blurred clouds. The building is structured and still, whereas the clouds are "soft" and are constantly changing throughout the days.