Araki Nobuyoshi is one of modern Japan's most notorious photographers. His official site can be viewed by clicking this link (Please note, the site is in Japanese). Araki started making professional photos in the 1960s. He started by taking pictures of people’s faces. From then on he experimented greatly with photography, the focus mainly being on people, or other aspects of life.
In the 1980’s, Araki started playing with the erotic side of his photography. His photos commonly feature nudity in various forms. Some of his photos are inspired by old Japanese woodblock paintings, while others are scenes of severe bondage.
The overt sexuality displayed in his photos ran into issues with Japanese censorship laws, as they sit on the invisible line between art and pornography. These issues were occasionally avoided by Araki painting over photographs or other artistic techniques, such as boiling the photo development fluids.
Araki does not focus on anything specifically Japanese, but he describes his art as snapshots of life. He seems to photograph what he pleases, and is very energetic and passionate about it. What he seems to love to photograph the most is people in any way, shape or form, and the way he captures these little moments of life can be very refreshing.
My first reaction to his photography was honest disgust. I came across my first photograph of his looking for another photographers work. Naturally it was a bondage photo, and it honestly scared me that someone would want to take a picture so graphic. However, after watching Arakimentari, I've seen a greater variety of his work and like a lot of his photos, just not the graphic ones. I recommend the film if you wish to learn more about this photographer.
In the 1980’s, Araki started playing with the erotic side of his photography. His photos commonly feature nudity in various forms. Some of his photos are inspired by old Japanese woodblock paintings, while others are scenes of severe bondage.
The overt sexuality displayed in his photos ran into issues with Japanese censorship laws, as they sit on the invisible line between art and pornography. These issues were occasionally avoided by Araki painting over photographs or other artistic techniques, such as boiling the photo development fluids.
Araki does not focus on anything specifically Japanese, but he describes his art as snapshots of life. He seems to photograph what he pleases, and is very energetic and passionate about it. What he seems to love to photograph the most is people in any way, shape or form, and the way he captures these little moments of life can be very refreshing.
My first reaction to his photography was honest disgust. I came across my first photograph of his looking for another photographers work. Naturally it was a bondage photo, and it honestly scared me that someone would want to take a picture so graphic. However, after watching Arakimentari, I've seen a greater variety of his work and like a lot of his photos, just not the graphic ones. I recommend the film if you wish to learn more about this photographer.
Bibliography:
Arakimentari. Dir.Travis Klose. Troopers Films, 2004.
Photos provided by: McNeill, David. "Eros & Death: The World of Araki Nobuyoshi ." Japan Focus. 27 Feb 2009 .
Nice overview/introduction to Araki's work.
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