Nobuyoshi Araki

Born in 1940, Araki studied photography at Chiba University before working as a commercial photographer. In 1970, while working for a marketing firm, Araki borrowed the company’s printer and xeroxed his personal photography, creating what would be his first photobook, followed now by over 500 books to date.

Throughout his career, his deeply intimate photographs of his private life have been the subject of much acclaim and controversy. Some of his most well-known photographs involve Kinbaku, Japanese rope bondage that dates to the 15th century. His 1971 photobook Sentimental Journey depicts his honeymoon with his wife Yoko. His oeuvre also encompasses city scenes of his native Tokyo, flowers, and still lives, the compositions emerging within an autobiographical mode of photography which Araki refers to ‘I-photography.’

Araki belongs to a generation of artists who emerged in the 1960s whilst Japan was experiencing radical economic growth. The post-war societal transformations and commercialism influenced these artists. Alongside erotic scenes, his oeuvre encompasses vibrant city scenes of his native Tokyo, flowers, and still lives. These compositions emerge within an autobiographical mode of photography which Araki refers to ‘I-photography,’ refiguring the ‘I-novel’ (shi-shōsetsu), a 20th century Japanese form of confessional literature.

His photography can be found in a number of international collections including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Art Institute of Chicago; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA);  the Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Tate Collection, London, and the Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art.