The erotic visions of Nobuyoshi Araki
- Dec 3, 2017
- 4 min read
Ever since I was a kid, I loved to draw, and one of my heroes in art college was Hajime Sorayama. He was master of the Japanese hyper-realism style of airbrush illustration. His favourite subjects were women of the scantily clad variety, bondage, sexy robots, gynoids (female cyborgs) and nudes. I see a lot of parralels in both Hajimi and Araki's work. So when I got into photography it was only natural that I found the works of Nobuyoshi Araki just as creative, beautiful, stimulating and deliciously avant garde. His work manages to avoid being labelled outright pornography by somehow capturing a sense of vulnerability in his models but of a kind that is not exploitative but rather one of artistic admiration and contemplation.
Apart from his erotic photography, he has explored such intimate themes as life and death, personal moments with his late wife Yoko Aoki, their cat Chiro and toy dinosaurs and lizards that notoriously appear in many of his works supposedly representing his alter ego. Araki studied photography and film production at Chiba University and started out as a commercial photographer at the advertising agency Dentsu. During this period he exhibited his first work, Satchin and his brother Mabo in 1963. It showcased the devastation from the war and the hope for a new beginning for the Japanese people.
Nobuyoshi Araki, 'Satchin and His Brother Mabo', 1963, Michael Hoppen Gallery
This 77-year-old photographer that has cheated cancer and shrugged aside partial blindness, is one of Japan’s most influential post-war photographers producing more than 400 published works that dared to challenge polite Japanese societal norms.
Araki rose to prominence in the 70s as a fine art photographer, with the artist himself naming the beginning of this decade as "The First Year of Araki". Among his early photographic prints are Sentimental Journey (1971), and Tokyo Lucky Hole (1990). Sentimental Journey "1972-1992" is a diary of life with his wife Yoko until she died of ovarian cancer in 1990. The first part of Sentimental Journey sees the couple embarking on married life – their honeymoon and having sex
“Tokyo Lucky Hole” is Araki’s record of the red-light district of Kabuki-cho in Shinjuku when it was at its most lively, before the enforcement of new adult entertainment laws on businesses in 1985 that is prominently mentioned in the Parr and Badger reference book, “The Photobook: A History”. They state in the book, “Tokyo Lucky Hole is one of Araki's best-known and most controversial books… "As usual, Araki's view is that of the voracious photographer who cannot stop clicking, even when participating in the 'action himself...Even more than in his other books, he is gleefully unrestrained, the perpetual tumescent adolescent, a kid in a candy store." Since the early seventies, eroticism has been an essential element in Araki's work. However it was from 1979 that Araki began his fixation with Kinbaku, a form of Japanese bondage that has inspired much of his work since. Though provocative in nature, Araki claims that his fascination with Kinbaku lies in his mission which is to "free women's souls by tying up their bodies." Hmm, I don't think this will be earning him any points with the feminist camp though.
Other pervasive themes include his flower series which, although not focusing on the exposed nude female body like much of the rest of his practice, remain erotic through their specific rendering and positioning of the photographs, which include both female and male genitalia
Snail on a penis has got to be one of my faves from his flower series
An example of how Hajime Sorayama's illustration mirrors what Araki creates with a camera
Although I much prefer his black and white work, he is also known for his vivid colour work, like his "Colourscapes" series. His colour prints are Inspired by the Japanese art of Shunga that reached its apex in the Edo period, as well as reflecting modern Japanese pop-culture. In most of Araki's work, the traditional Kimono is cleverly juxtaposed against the erotism of the models who wear them.
The master getting up close and personal with one of his subjects
Nobuyoshi Araki - 'YAKUZA' circa 1994
Icelandic musician Björk is a great fan of Araki's work, and served as one of his muses. At her request he photographed the cover and inner sleeve pages of her 1997 remix album, Telegram. More recently photographing pop icon Lady Gaga.
Nobuyoshi Araki and Bjork share an intimate moment
In October 2013, Araki lost the vision in his right eye due to a retinal artery obstruction. How did he deal with this loss? In true Araki style, he utilised this setback as an inspiration for his work, called "Love on the left eye", which was held on the 21st of June 2014 at the Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo, Japan.
Nobuyoshi Araki Love On The Left Eye, 2014 RP-Pro Crystal Print
Awards: 1964: Sun Prize, Japan.
1990: Society of Photography Award, Japan.
1991: 7th Higashikawa Prize.
1994: Japan Inter-Design Forum Grand Prix.
2008: Austrian Decoration for Science and Art.
His Leica M7, the last analogue camera to be produced by the German manufacturer. It marks the final episode of his Leica series, which he began in the 1980s (“Life by Leica”) and continued in 2000 (“Love by Leica”) and finally (Last of Leica) in 2012.
Araki has exhibited his work in international art institutions that include the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Kestner Gesellschaft, Hannover; Deichtorhallen, Hamburg; and the Pinakothek der Moderne, Muenchen, among others. His last solo exhibition was at the Museo d’Arte della Citta di Lugano.
A colour print from his "Colourscapes" series. Note the dinosaur toy that is supposed to be his alter ego
Lady Gaga test polaroids, her actual shoot was in black and white
Nobuyoshi Araki photographs for V Magazine, 2011.
Mathilda Tolvanen & Marthe Wiggers photographed by Araki & styled by Jennifer Eymère for Jalouse, September 2013.
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