The Photography of Nobuyoshi Araki

Since the camera invention, people were undeniable to learn to photograph and found it valuable for living to these days. Colberg (2012) defines that the photography has become a powerful means of communication and mode of visual expression that touches human life in many ways. People principally capture pictures as a mean of preserve personal memories that they can have them evermore. In addition, photography has explored extensively in many fields such as printed matter to convey information and advertise product and services as well as it is widely recognize as a fine art such as exhibited in art museum, discussed by critics and studied in art history. Therefore, it seems that everybody who is interested in taking photo and concomitantly growth with this world invention can be a good photographer whereas to become a notable photographer isn’t a piece of cake. Nobuyoshi Araki is a remarkable photographer who proved one’s ability by time. His life was not a bed of road that life has to face trail and error and lastly, found self-substance of life. According to Robin (2005) he encountered photography at a very early age, learning through imitation and began taking his own photographs while still in primary school and it certainly has no shortcut for this field. He kept on going with his passion of photography. He learnt further to improve his skills including discovered his own style and began to work as a photographer respectively. Araki has been photograph more than 40 years experience. Furthermore, he would be able to exhibit his works many galleries where were not only in his country, Tokyo rather has been several leading and displaying his attitude photography in Europe such as Amsterdam’s Foam museum according to Phaidon (2014). As a result, he got a several style of collection images for instance scenes of his own honeymoon with Yoko, sexual acts, and Tokyo street scenes. However, these images are enormously worth that brought his own private world and vision as well as became well known photographer until nowadays. This essay will look at two aspects of his work through pieces of work the sentimental Journey series, 1971 and Kinbaku

Fig.1. Nobuyoshi Araki, Winter Journey (1991)

Seider (2013) claims that Araki started the series of sentimental journey, winter journey when he married Yoko in 1971. As figure 1 shows, the photographer carefully documented every states of Yoko that was commenced from their honeymoon and ended with Yoko’s death in 1990. Robin (2005) explains that Araki decided to publish this collection of work because of Kishin Shinoyama was who influenced him in term of reality. He has been said “ the best photograph are those that generate a sense of surprise when we’re confronted by things created by nature. It’s all down to weather the photographer is able to press the shutter without flinching “ (Robin, 2005:17). The experience of his parent’s death and photographing the dead has enabled Araki to leap forward from his subconciousness, confronted by the death of beloved wife and express naturally to the fact.

As a result, he has reached the point of Yoko death and moreover, people will be able to see every manners of Yoko that is in all aspect to her life. People could imagine Yoko decline day by day following the series of picture. The sentimental journey was gradually successful which is the most emotional engaging story. Overall, the travel, women, landscape, sex and death are the main theme of this series. As figure 2 shows, he was presenting cruelly realistic and catching compelling for people glimpse into relationship between an artist and his muse. The aspect of illustration is given the meaning behind. Nippon (2010) claims the photograph of Yoko was sleeping in the boat is seem to be a potentially image that seem to gave symbolize journey of the after life.

In contrast, Brittain (1999) states that Nobuyoshi Araki is one of Japan photographer who’s mainly captured pornography images for example strippers and prostitutes. Thus, Phaidon (2014) argued that some reflections of him always were notorious and infamous provocative, and erotic wherever this unique style of his work gave him an international reputation that virtually shows well conceptual paradigm and Japanese culture for instance Moshakis (2013) explains that Araki’s Kinbaku work purposed to delicate about the traditional art of bondage that has been famous in the 1600s called Shunga and unfortunately, people was banned sexual and lastly declined. Apart from that, he reduced the subject against currently association and creating the series of Kinbaku in the appearance of photography. Araki used of traditional elements and created his own floating world.

He captured picture of the model’s bodies with rope as they hanged suspended in the air through the use of kinbaku that is the art of tying knots with ropes. From figure 3, the proportion seems to deform but it also shows elegantly look in the same way.

However, the emotional and sexuality are interchanged including collided along Araki’s work. They have a powerfully shape people sense that can well presented though the features of emotion as well as erotic. Every photographic image has shaped collective memory of social and cultural experiences to degree that pictures can appear to function. In addition, Araki has been found with the principle of unique within that principal lie the main of the idea of the photograph. Therefore, it seems that all works were all connected in ideas of polarities such as life and death, heaven and hell and passion and reason as every starting points should have an end and his works terrifically revealed. Overall, uses of the document in contemporary art reconcile and investigate such a loaded photographs. They showed the assumption that the photographic archive is a collection of objective documents and become the function as tools of power for Nobuyoshi Araki.