The Art of Nobuyoshi Araki
Araki, photo by Nan Goldin, Tokyo Love 1995
Nobuyoshi Araki 荒木 経惟 (1940- ) Brief Biography Nobuyoshi Araki’s works demonstrate features of post-modern Japan such as: • Richness of figurality • Evanescence and lyricism of life • Variety of shifting values
Main topics in Araki’s works: • • • •
Self and Life 私 生 Sex (Eros) Death (Thanatos) 死 Modern Tokyo scene
Araki’s favorite ten photographers, and major influences 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Jacques-Henri Lartigue Diane Arbus Eugène Atget Félix Nadar Man Ray Brassaï Henri Cartier-Bresson Ihei Kimura 木村伊兵衛 Kishin Shinoyama 篠山 紀信 Nobuyoshi Araki
The influence of Man Ray & Kishin Shinoyama
Kishin Shinoyama
Man Ray Kishin Shinoyama
Man Ray
The influence of Henri Cartier-Bresson & Eugène Atget
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Eugène Atget
The Sentimental Journey Documentation of honeymoon
The Intimate Photography 私寫真 Photography as private diary
Yōko Araki (荒木陽子) is Araki’s most beloved woman and best model.
Turning point of Araki’s styles - death of wife in 1990. Î 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 shouldn’t.” – 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 Araki’s 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
Tokyo’s Contemporary Sexual Underworld I
Ensuring that the truth remains unseen!
Tokyo’s 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 (春画)
Shunga
•Influenced by Shunga, but the male is invisible
“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
•The male is Araki himself, taking photos as an imaginary participant and observer
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 • Araki’s official website • Araki interviewed by Jérôme 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
