Good morning Christopher.
Having seen work from South America, compasitionaly I think that some of the photographers there,past and present take some great risks with compasition in order to get some very good shots, I.E. using non obviouse cut of points or angles to great effect.
This could be something to do with the cultural way of looking at things.
In Britain and areas of Europe a more snappy approach seems to be taking place, especialy with the new digital photographers, not sure if it works for me I find a lot of it very much the same with a lack of personel identity.
You should recognise a photographer from a photograph, becouse of charectoristic trade marks in the picture.
Cultural back grounds and setting in order to be diffrent is very important and that is why I stayed away from London in order to build up a portfolio defining my style, and I have not got to where I want to be with it yet, using the landcape as a backdrop, rather than being stuck in a studio.
Photography and Filmmaking
Creative, conceptual and technical; contemporary and historical
How does Araki Nobuyoshi relate to Nan Goldin & Wolfgang Tillmans.
How important is the cultural background & setting for the photographic expression of the artist. Would love to hear many voices.
In reply to Chris Summerfield:
Hi Chris,
Thank you for your comments.
I definitely need to check out work from South America.
Sounds interesting.
I am Swiss/German and have been in a lot of places in Europe, have also lived in the US a couple of times and also in Japan. Different cultures always fascinate me and I think it also shows in the photography.
An interesting aspect is that some work is only "valid" in the culture it is set in, or let's say it has a different meaning in the native culture than in other countries.
This is the case for a lot of Araki's photos. I have an MA in Japanese Cultural studies and actually wrote my grad paper on
one of Araki's books called "Tokyo Novel". It has a large portion of handwritten and very personal texts, which add a new layer of meaning to the pictures and put them in a new context. As all texts in this book are Japanese only, this enhanced layer is only accessible to Japanese speakers.
But besides this obvious language barrier it is also the very subtle way of expression inherent to a lot of Japanese art forms, especially striking in film (Takeshi Kitano's "Dolls"),
and the use of cultural symbols which may not be noticed by the
Non-Japanese observer.
Araki is infamous for his provocative erotic photography, but there is also a political aspect in his pictures. He is playing with the role of women in Japanese society, i.e. portraying them in such a way that mocks the established male domination of society. I could go on and on, but...
So, I think that, the cultural background we grow up in, but also the experiences we gain abroad shape our character and this materializes in the art, as well.
raised in does have a great impact on
i love araki.
i think culture def. play a big part on the works of different culture people. because people's character all over the world is different and special in their own way.
like for instance, i heard that for japanese, a nude picture of a woman with their pubic hair is considered to be more bold, erotic and rude than the one when they're shaved. correct me if i'm wrong. these perceptions alone can make a huge difference.
In reply to didi:
Just checked out the link to the website in your details, I love the videos and stills its a great insight in to where you come from Didi.
In reply to didi:
Hi Didi,
Thank you for your comment.
Yeah, as I wrote in my reply to Chris, I am also a big Araki fan and have spent quite some time studying his work.
Regarding the depiction of the pubic hair, I am not sure. It seems that your assumption is right, though.
Next to his Japanese monography "Tokyo Novel" I have also read a
book he has published on the theory of photography, which is really great. Just the title alone is so ironic, that it's hilarious. It's called "tensai araki, shashi no houhou", which translates "Genius Araki's method of photography".
He is definitely a funny and provocative guy and it is really his comments on his photos which are sometimes even more interesting than the photos themselves. (oops, that's not
so nice to say, but true for some pics.)
seems to be more of a global branding than any unique geographical comparison...its about them as artists..and their u.s.p....as opposed to position on the planet.....one.
In reply to shaw:
Hmm...
I think I would need to disagree to some degree.
Of course, there is also a sort of globally branded photography, e.g. ads & fashion trends that we find in all relevant mags, but I think it is in the free work that the "soul" of the photographer is revealed. And in this context the cultural background definitely has some impact, I think...
In reply to Christopher Lenz:
Some of Bruce Webers best work has been for the magazines, especially when photographing ballet guys.
In reply to Chris Summerfield:
Hi Chris,
I didn't mean to degrade editorial work in any way. Sorry if it
came across like that.
I have been keenly following various magazines like the i-D, dazed, face, trace, flaunt, etc, and been inspired by the great photos.
I only meant to say that the cultural backgrounds of the photographer and models (or subject matter) show rather in
photos with natural backdrops (on location), as opposed to studio
shots. That is an interesting point that you mentioned in your first reply.