“Nobuyoshi Araki graphic erotica is revered and reviled in almost equal measures.” GQ October 2006.
Many label him a rebel genius, while others call him a misogynist who objectifies and degrades women by turning them into lifeless sex toys. His women, some of them models, some of them lovers, stare vacantly into the lens, giving the viewer the unnerving feeling of witnessing something deeply sinister.
The 2008 Berlin exhibition includes a highlight film.
At first glance the photos of tied up woman seem to be in line with the Western concept of Bondage, but Nobuyoshi Araki has emphasized a contrast: “Kinbaku (knots with ropes) are different from bondage. I only tie up woman’s body because I know I cannot tie up her heart. Only her physical parts can be tied up. Tying up a woman becomes an embrace.” Nobuyoshi Araki takes photographs of women because photography for him is inextricably linked to love and eroticism. Most models have asked Nobuyoshi Araki themselves to be photographed for the Kinbaku series. Concurrent to the exhibition at Jablonka Galerie, the Kestnergesellschaft Hannover presents 100 colored photographs of the Kinbaku series. May 3, 2008.
You’ll be drawn into this raw, stark approach.
