"photography is murder"-----Nobuyoshi Araki

Nobuyoshi Araki is a well-known and controversial photographer who takes a fundamental role in Japanese Art extent. Someone thinks he is just a freak and voyeurism because most of his photography subjects are focus on something taboo or conventionally forbidden like naked women, their vaginas and boobs with extreme close up shoot and even sometimes bound Japanese women wear traditional kimonos or completely naked. Araki said the reality always exposure after being naked. However, he also gets a massive number of loyal cross-cultural fans like a very famous one, Iceland singer, Bjork.

Except his symbolic subjects, naked women, Araki also likes to shoot reptiles, died fishes, his favorite cat, transformation of clouds, especially his hometown Tokyo. He claimed that in one of his interview in 2003, Tokyo city has somehow mysterious relation with sex, the dark side of Tokyo city is similar as intricate sex which is hided in the depth of Tokyo. Araki barely uses digital cameras for filming and addicted to lomography. He published particular two photograph albums that taken by lomo cameras. He likes both black-white and colored photos and he has very unique opinion about them. Araki said black-white represents death in his picture and colored ones express vitality.

This might be related to his personal experiences about death, her wife Yoko and his maiden work ‘sentimental journey’. This work records his honeymoon and also could be seen a documentary album of her wife’s death. 'sentimental journey' is my favorite one among his approximately 200 photography albums. It might be an important reason which helps me to understand a little bit about his works. I was definitely shocked and felt extremely uncomfortable when I was first encountered his symbolic pictures, I was thinking about how could he take these sorts of ridiculous photos? And then I began to wonder what kind of person could take these quirky things and what about his real life. It was unbelievable to find out he has a beloved wife and he directly documented her death with camera. Yoko was always his favorite model and the first person gave him evaluation about his works.

There are two specific photos of ‘sentimental journey’ that impressed me a lot. One is Yoko peacefully lied on a boat alone. She looks so relax but it somehow reminded me a sense of sadness. Especially I knew she already had cancer when Araki filmed. This is a kind of feeling about a husband watches beloved wife is dying but he has nothing to do but took the photo and it will remind himself everytime in the future. Espeically Araki used film camera to shoot this one which perfectly suited for the meaning of it, the best moment will never comeback again, you just could record it but can't change it.

The second one is very touching and I almost cried when I first saw it. This photo was also taken by Araki himself. Araki holds Yoko’s hand and she is already gone at that moment. This is the ending of Yoko's life, the ending of photographic conversation between Araki and Yoko, also the ending of 'sentimental journey'

"Maybe I only had a relationship with her as a photographer, not as a partner. If I hadn’t documented her death, both the description of my state of mind and my declaration of love would have been incomplete. I found consolation in unmasking lust and loss, by staging a bitter confrontation between symbols. After Yoko’s death, I didn’t want to photograph anything but life – honestly. Yet every time I pressed the button, I ended up close to death, because to photograph is to stop time. I want to tell you something, listen closely: photography is murder."

-------------------Araki

Sources:

http://www.lensculture.com/oborn.html

http://q.sohu.com/topic/2562075

http://www.showchina.net.cn/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=6286