Noritaka Minami, M.F.A. ’11, Featured in Upcoming MoMA Exhibition

New exhibition at MoMA explores the 50-year history and cultural legacy of the Nakagin Capsule Tower

Department of Art alumnus Noritaka Minami, M.F.A. ’11, will be featured in The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, a new exhibition opening July 10, 2025, at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The exhibition explores the 50-year history of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, a landmark of postwar Japanese architecture designed by Kisho Kurokawa and a key example of the Metabolist movement, which combined concepts of large-scale modular design with ideas drawn from biological growth and renewal. Minami’s long-term photographic documentation of the building provides an in-depth look at its evolution and legacy. 

"I was drawn to this building, which symbolized a future that never arrived in Tokyo," said Minami. "This project started in 2010 while I was still a graduate student at UC Irvine.  At the time, I had no idea that this would be an endeavor that would last until 2022, and the works would end up at MoMA. I’m very thankful for the support the faculty showed me when I initially began to pursue this project."

Image: Noritaka Minami., A503 I, from the series 1972 (2010–22), 2017, archival pigment print, 20 × 25″ (101.6 × 127 cm). Photo by and courtesy of Noritaka Minami ©.

Minami began photographing the Nakagin Capsule Tower as the structure faced increasing demolition threats. His monograph, 1972 – Nakagin Capsule Tower, published in 2015 by Kehrer Verlag, captures the interior spaces of the capsules in striking detail and was awarded the Architectural Book Award by the Deutsches Architekturmuseum. His work preserves a rare glimpse into a once-futuristic vision of urban living and invites deeper reflection on architecture’s impermanence and adaptability.

MoMA’s exhibition will showcase a fully restored capsule alongside nearly 45 archival and contemporary objects that trace the building’s innovative design, transformation, and cultural impact. The exhibition runs through July 12, 2026, and will be accompanied by public programs in collaboration with Japan Society and a publication in MoMA’s One on One series.

Minami is an Associate Professor of Photography at Loyola University Chicago. His work is held in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago and the Center for Photography at Woodstock, among others. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, with solo shows at SFO Museum, Kana Kawanishi Gallery, Tokyo, USC Roski School of Art and Design, UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design and Griffin Museum of Photography.  He has also participated in group exhibitions at the Aperture Foundation and Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Image: Noritaka Minami. B1004 I, from the series 1972 (2010–22), 2011, archival pigment print, 20 × 25″ (101.6 × 127 cm). Photo by and courtesy of Noritaka Minami ©.

For more about The Many Lives of the Nakagin Capsule Tower exhibition, visit moma.org. To learn more about Noritaka Minami’s work, visit noritakaminami.com.