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| ARAKI NOBUYOSHI: CONTROVERSIAL PHOTOGRAPHY |
| Araki Nobuyoshi. Portrait from www.japanfocus.org |
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Nobuyoshi Araki is one of the most radical and controversial photographers of our time.
He is known for his provoking photos that break social taboos surrounding sexuality, and
death. He is also a master of presenting the flowers in the most erotic way.
In 1971 he published small editions of his first books using a Xerox photocopier and
mailed them to friends, colleagues, and people selected at random in the phone book.
Since that time he has published more than 350 books in Japan and abroad. Nobuyoshi
Araki's work is shown worldwide. Among his famous collections there are:
'Sentimental Journey’; ‘Winter Journey’; 'There Is A Camera Between Man and Woman';
'Yoko, My Love'; 'Photograph Novel'; 'Tokyo Elegy'; 'World of Girls'; 'Autumn in Tokyo'.
One of the artist’s major trademarks is photo diary.
Nobuyoshi Araki lives and works in Tokyo.
He is known for his provoking photos that break social taboos surrounding sexuality, and
death. He is also a master of presenting the flowers in the most erotic way.
In 1971 he published small editions of his first books using a Xerox photocopier and
mailed them to friends, colleagues, and people selected at random in the phone book.
Since that time he has published more than 350 books in Japan and abroad. Nobuyoshi
Araki's work is shown worldwide. Among his famous collections there are:
'Sentimental Journey’; ‘Winter Journey’; 'There Is A Camera Between Man and Woman';
'Yoko, My Love'; 'Photograph Novel'; 'Tokyo Elegy'; 'World of Girls'; 'Autumn in Tokyo'.
One of the artist’s major trademarks is photo diary.
Nobuyoshi Araki lives and works in Tokyo.
It is a photographic diary on artist’s wedding and honeymoon with his wife Yoko in 1971. It shows Yoko in the hotel
showing Yoko curled up like a fetus on a row boat- “birth and death combined”, as defined by photo critic Kohtaro
Iizawa.
In 1997 the book was turned into a movie “Tokyo Biyori” starring Naoto Takenaka as Araki and Miho Nakayama as
Yoko.
A later photo series ‘Winter Journey” documents Yoko’s illness and death. The photos are imprinted with the date
and presented chronologically. Most of the photos are captioned.
“Winter Journey” begins on May 17, 1989, Yoko's birthday. She and Araki are dancing and a friend is singing. Araki
writes that no matter how busy they are, they always spend her birthday and their wedding anniversary together.
August 1989, Araki photographs the sky from the hospital waiting room while Yoko undergoes surgery. He is told
that she probably won't make it, but he doesn't want to believe, he doesn’t tell Yoko anything.
December 1989, the doctors say that she has about a month left to live. He then takes a long walk to Waseda. He
takes a photo of the sidewalk.
January 1990, Araki is told that Yoko has one week left. She seems to know. She grasps his hand and doesn’t want
to let it go…
It is snowing outside. While wiping off the snow on his glasses, the frame breaks. He photographs the broken
glasses on a sheet of black paper.
January 26 she is in a coma. He puts his ear over her mouth. Miraculously her eyes open. She replies: "Anata" (my
dearest). He holds her hand, and she grippes his hand in return. He is making a picture of his hand in Yoko’s.
On January 27 she passes away at age 42.
The photo diary continues.
He photographs his own shadow as he carries flowers to her room the day she dies, her bones on a gurney after
her cremation, the funeral. Then: the Tokyo skies beyond his balcony, Yoko's cat at the window with him…
showing Yoko curled up like a fetus on a row boat- “birth and death combined”, as defined by photo critic Kohtaro
Iizawa.
In 1997 the book was turned into a movie “Tokyo Biyori” starring Naoto Takenaka as Araki and Miho Nakayama as
Yoko.
A later photo series ‘Winter Journey” documents Yoko’s illness and death. The photos are imprinted with the date
and presented chronologically. Most of the photos are captioned.
“Winter Journey” begins on May 17, 1989, Yoko's birthday. She and Araki are dancing and a friend is singing. Araki
writes that no matter how busy they are, they always spend her birthday and their wedding anniversary together.
August 1989, Araki photographs the sky from the hospital waiting room while Yoko undergoes surgery. He is told
that she probably won't make it, but he doesn't want to believe, he doesn’t tell Yoko anything.
December 1989, the doctors say that she has about a month left to live. He then takes a long walk to Waseda. He
takes a photo of the sidewalk.
January 1990, Araki is told that Yoko has one week left. She seems to know. She grasps his hand and doesn’t want
to let it go…
It is snowing outside. While wiping off the snow on his glasses, the frame breaks. He photographs the broken
glasses on a sheet of black paper.
January 26 she is in a coma. He puts his ear over her mouth. Miraculously her eyes open. She replies: "Anata" (my
dearest). He holds her hand, and she grippes his hand in return. He is making a picture of his hand in Yoko’s.
On January 27 she passes away at age 42.
The photo diary continues.
He photographs his own shadow as he carries flowers to her room the day she dies, her bones on a gurney after
her cremation, the funeral. Then: the Tokyo skies beyond his balcony, Yoko's cat at the window with him…
| Araki Nobuyoshi's photos are from http://www.mdf.ru |
| by Lori McMarin |