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Araki

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Ruxandra-Maria Radulescu
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3K views

Araki

Uploaded by

Ruxandra-Maria Radulescu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Art of Nobuyoshi Araki

Araki, photo by Nan Goldin, Tokyo Love 1995

Nobuyoshi Araki (1940- )


Brief Biography
Nobuyoshi Arakis works demonstrate features of post-modern Japan such as: Richness of figurality Evanescence and lyricism of life Variety of shifting values

Main topics in Arakis works:


Self and Life Sex (Eros) Death (Thanatos) Modern Tokyo scene

Arakis favorite ten photographers, and major influences


1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Jacques-Henri Lartigue Diane Arbus Eugne Atget Flix Nadar Man Ray Brassa Henri Cartier-Bresson Ihei Kimura Kishin Shinoyama Nobuyoshi Araki

The influence of Man Ray & Kishin Shinoyama

Kishin Shinoyama

Man Ray Kishin Shinoyama

Man Ray

The influence of Henri Cartier-Bresson & Eugne Atget

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Eugne Atget

The Sentimental Journey


Documentation of honeymoon

The Intimate Photography


Photography as private diary

Yko Araki () is Arakis most beloved woman


and best model.

Turning point of Arakis styles - death of wife in 1990. more exaggerated and daring
The death of someone dear to you makes turn towards life. Araki

Reflecting on the evanescence of life Also, death (Thanatos) is implied in love and sex.

Billowing vitality in the face of death

Sexual content reveals the passage from life to death.

Something to hold on to in this ever-changing world

Kinbaku (knots with ropes) are different from bondage. I only tie up a woman's body because I know I cannot tie up her heart. Only her physical parts can be tied up. Tying up a woman becomes an embrace. - Araki

Opposition to conventional morality

Art is all about doing what you shouldnt. Nobuyoshi Arachy

A post-modern view of time


Random timecodes
A photograph takes place only at a certain instant. And this instant is unidentifiable. The instant is the eternal and the eternal is the instant. When the camera shutter is released, that's the eternal. Eternity is achieved by releasing the camera shutter and letting it descend. Araki

Another influence of Bresson

Tokyo is Arakis city


Portraits of people from all walks of life Post-industrial age cityscapes

Photographing a city that is not my own is bothersome. To be honest, I don't have any interest in any city besides Tokyo. - Araki

Tokyos Contemporary Sexual Underworld I

Ensuring that the truth remains unseen!

Tokyos Contemporary Sexual Underworld II

Tokyo Love
A documentary project with Nan Goldin in 1994

from Tokyo Love 1995

Photojournalism on the subcultures of Tokyo


Portraits of adolescence gender bending performers in Tokyo High visuality in costumes and space decorations
from Tokyo Love 1995

Monsters (as altered Egos)


Reviving the tradition of animism as seem in old prints (for example, Hokusai) Monsters/Kaiju, such as Godzilla, represents the desires of humanity

Hokusai

Sexual drive behind the monstrosity

Nobuyoshi Araki

Here, the artificial and the natural seem to occupy the same world; real life (the cat, the vegetation) are juxtaposed with representations of both real (actual dinosaurs) and imaginary (Godzilla etc.) animals.

Japan beneath the Kimono

The influences of Edo Periods Ukiyo-e prints and erotic art, ie. Shunga ()

Shunga

Influenced by Shunga, but the male is invisible The male is Araki himself, taking photos as an imaginary participant and observer

I'd like to take photos similar to Shunga, but I haven't reached that level yet. There is bashfulness in Shunga. The genitals are visible, but the rest is hidden by the kimono. In other words, they don't show everything. They are hiding a secret. - Araki

A photographer of post-modern thoughts and lyrical intent


Every photo is a microcosm of evanescent life The artist himself is an observer and participant in the scene he has captured.
In my photographs I often appear in scenes containing bondage or sexual activity. I play the role of a midget in a Shunga painting. A secondary role as a spectator. After all, I prefer photographs to sex. Araki

References and Extended Readings


Nobuyoshi Araki: Self, Life, Death. Phaidon Press, New York 2005 Nan Goldin and Nobuyoshi Araki: Tokyo Love. D.A.P. New York 1995 Arakis official website Araki interviewed by Jrme Sans Intimate photography: Tokyo, nostalgia and sex Interviews of Araki

Photo Credits
All Araki works are from Nobuyoshi Araki: Self, Life, Death. Phaidon Press, New York 2005. Except the three noted are from Nan Goldin and Nobuyoshi Araki: Tokyo Love. D.A.P. New York 1995 The Rest are from

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