Pinakothek der Moderne

Nobuyoshi Araki (*1940) from Japan, one of the most provocative photographers of our day, has been taking pictures since the late 1960¿s. He does this daily and obsessively. His works include not only erotic photographs that have brought him international fame but also pictures of flowers, charming features of everyday life, photos of architecture as well as personal images of himself and of his wife Yoko, who died at an early age. Araki claims the world for himself through the medium of photography, a »claim« that has since been published in almost 400 books.

The work »Tokyo Sexteen«, consisting of 28 diptychs, formed the original basis for the 1973 book »Tokyo« which appeared as a small edition but has now long been out of print. In this early work with its strong conceptual focus Araki juxtaposes pairs of pictures that capture street scenes of everyday life in Tokyo, presenting them in such a way as to evoke erotic fantasies. Passers-by taken at busy junctions and city squares are brought together in the same picture - largely by accident. Only occasionally do they gaze into the camera of the photographer. Juxtaposed to these everyday scenes are other pictures presenting the recurring theme of the woman staring at the viewer in erotically laden fantasies.

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