Nobuyoshi Araki’s Art

NOBUYOSHI ARAKI’S ART
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City and State
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Nobuyoshi Araki’s Art
Nobuyoshi Araki is one of Japan's most controversial photographers and artists. He is famous for creating provocative works and attaching scandalous claims to the images. Most of his works focus around romanticism, sex, and sexuality. The artist is infamously known in the art circles as Japan's last “dirty old man.” He got the title following a claim that he had sex with all the models who posed for his photoshoot sessions. Most of the women who featured in his photographic collections either work or worked in the mizu shobai (the Japanese sex industry). Mark D. West, in his book; “Lovesick Japan: Sex, Marriage, Romance, Law,” synthesized Japanese opinions on sex and romance (West, 2011). The book examined close to 2,700 court rulings in Japan, incorporating the legal attitudes, and generalized the overall Japanese mentality: “Japanese love is one of neither happiness nor tranquility. The younger men do not focus on seducing women, implying a decline in romantic relationships. Sex is rarely an affair between lovers, but involves the hiring of prostitutes to satisfy their desire. It is clear that prostitution does not involve romance, and every involved party does his or her duty before parting ways. According to West, majority of the males’ sexual partners are over 30. The Japanese men are more into the prostitution business than their ladies.
West opines that in the Japanese sex culture, there are no indications of emotions or intimacy. There also seems to be stringent rules that force most Japanese individuals to hide their emotions and pursue sexual satisfaction under utmost secrecy conditions (West, 2011). Getting an artist such as Nobuyushi who openly displayed the openness was and still is a rare thing.
Nobuyoshi developed an art series dubbed; “Alluring Hell.” The series applies concepts similar to Yoshiyuki's The Park. Yokishuki was also a Japanese artist who focused more on nudity and sexuality within Japan. However, Yokishuki’s approach suggested ore of a romanticized Japan than how Nobuyoshi depicted it. Alluring Hell depicts prostitution on the part of women who are ddemed as working in “Love Hotels.” Love hotels are short stay hotels whose primary function is offering their guests the privacy for sex activities. The operations take the classic 'playboy' style approach. The depiction includes women’s legs spread, bare chests, and the female figures appear under the male gazes.
Under th...