Catalogue: Nobuyoshi Araki I, Photography

This is the catalog for the exhibition Araki Nobuyoshi: I, Photography, held from December 17, 2017 to March 25, 2018.

Since the mid-1960s, Nobuyoshi Araki (1940-) has photographed cities, people, flowers, sky, and still lifes, viewing them as everyday experiences. Doing so, he has captured the “life” his subjects possess as well as “death” inseparable from “life.” The varying weight of life and death felt in each photograph can be seen as a reflection of the fragility of human existence and of Araki’s own life, adding to the depth and appeal of his work.

This exhibition selects, from among the vast number of photographs taken over the years, photographic works manipulated in some form to make us more strongly conscious of life and death and to blur the border between them. The works show him stepping outside conventions to try something new and looking with great honesty at photography and himself. The works, variously attempted as direct expressions of the desire for photography born from his emotions at different times, break free from conventional boundaries and take on new challenges, once again conveying Araki’s sincere attitude toward both photography and himself. Including new works such as Flower Cemetery, an homage to the flower artist Yukio Nakagawa (1918–2012) from Marugame City, this exhibition offers a glimpse into how Araki continues to engage passionately with photography—capturing both “life” and “death” through his lens. (From the catalogue foreword)

Editor: Madoka Matsumura

Design: Tsubasa Oike

Photography: Akira Takahashi (Exhibition Views)

Printing: Heiwa Photo Printing Co., Ltd.

Published by: Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art, The MIMOCA Foundation 

[CONTENTS]

Foreword

Works (Plates)

Hana Reien

Koibito Shikiin

Kitano Sora

The Anniversary of Hokusai’s Death

“Nobuyoshi Araki: Death and Life” by Madoka Matsumura

Nobuyoshi Araki: Biography

List of Works

Material: Paper

Languages: Japanese

Dimensions: Height 20 cm, Width 21 cm, Depth 1.1 cm

Weight: 390 g