Kenji Kanesaka

Kenji Kanesaka (1934-1999) was a filmmaker, photographer and founding member of Film Indépendent and the Japan Filmmakers' Coop. He first came to the US in 1961 to attend the Harvard International Seminar on Culture; and again as a Fulbright Scholar at Northwestern University's film department from 1964-65.

During his time in the US, Kanesaka photographed countercultural movements, capturing hippies, members of the Black Panther Party, and individuals like Andy Warhol and Allen Ginsberg, which he later brought together for his photobook I Shoot America (1978). In 1966, he was commissioned by producer Marv Gold to direct Super Up, a film exploring structures of race and class inequality through advertising posters in Chicago. His 1967 film Hopscotch, partially shot in the US, formed the basis of a multimedia performance at the Sogetsu Art Center featuring Yasunao Tone, Nobuhiko Obayashi, Rikurō Miyai, Yosuke Yamashita, and Jiro Takamatsu. His publications include Underground Generation (1968), Underground America (1967), Our America (1976), Capturing America (1978) and others.