Masahisa Fukase
Encyclopedia
, born 25 February 1934 in Hokkaidō
, is a Japanese photographer.
The last book that he supervised, Karasu (Ravens), was shot in in 1976 in Hokkaido
in the wake of his divorce, and was published in 1986. The gloomy and emotional photos are a sharp contrast to his earlier works. In 2010, a panel of five experts convened by the British Journal of Photography selected Karasu as the best photobook
published between 1986 and 2009.
In 1992, Fukase suffered traumatic brain injury
from a fall; as of 2010, he was still in a coma
.
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, is a Japanese photographer.
Life
Among Fukase's early works was the "Kill the Pigs" (1961) concerning a slaughterhouse. Fukase's photographs of his family and his bride, received considerable attention in numerous exhibitions and magazines; these were collected in his second book, published in 1978.The last book that he supervised, Karasu (Ravens), was shot in in 1976 in Hokkaido
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
in the wake of his divorce, and was published in 1986. The gloomy and emotional photos are a sharp contrast to his earlier works. In 2010, a panel of five experts convened by the British Journal of Photography selected Karasu as the best photobook
Photobook
A photo-book or photobook is a book in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content. The most critically acclaimed photo-books celebrate the creative work of an individual photographer, but can also result from the collaboration between a photographer and a writer, an...
published between 1986 and 2009.
In 1992, Fukase suffered traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury , also known as intracranial injury, occurs when an external force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism , or other features...
from a fall; as of 2010, he was still in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
.
Selected exhibitions
- "Black Sun: the Eyes of Four." Museum of Modern Art, OxfordModern Art OxfordModern Art Oxford is an art gallery established in 1965 in Oxford, England. From 1965 to 2002, it was called The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford.-Foundation:...
, England, December 1985 – February 1986; Serpentine GallerySerpentine GalleryThe Serpentine Gallery is an art gallery in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, central London. It focuses on modern and contemporary art. The exhibitions, architecture, education and public programmes attract approximately 750,000 visitors a year...
, London, April–May 1986; Philadelphia Museum of ArtPhiladelphia Museum of ArtThe Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, Philadelphia, August–October 1986; University of Iowa Museum of ArtUniversity of Iowa Museum of ArtThe University of Iowa Museum of Art is a visual arts institution that is part of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, USA.-Introduction:The University of Iowa Museum of Art, established in 1969, has one of the top university art collections in the country...
, March–May 1987; San Diego Museum of ArtSan Diego Museum of ArtThe San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926, and changed its name to the San...
, San Diego, September–October 1987; Baltimore Museum of ArtBaltimore Museum of ArtThe Baltimore Museum of Art in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, was founded in 1914. Built in the Roman Temple style, the Museum is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 90,000 works...
, Baltimore, August–October 1988. - "The Unpublished Works." Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, May–June 2001.
Books
- Yūgi ( / Homo Ludence). Eizō no Gendai 4. Tokyo: Chūōkōronsha, 1971.
- Yōko ( / Yohko). Sonorama Shashin Sensho 8. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1978.
- Biba! Sasuke ( / Viva Sasuke). Tokyo: Pet-Life-sha, 1979.
- Sasuke, Itoshiki Neko yo ( / Sasuke, My Dear Cat). Tokyo: Seinen-shokan, 1979.
- Neko no Mugi Wara Boshi ( / The Strawhat Cat). Tokyo: Bunka Shuppankyoku, 1979.
- Kūkai to Kōyasan ( / Kūkai and Mount Kōya). Nihon no Seiiki 2. Tokyo: Kōsei Shuppansha, 1982. ISBN 433301042X.
- Karasu ( / Ravens). Yokohama: Sōkyūsha, 1986. In Japanese and English.
- Kazoku ( / Family). Tokyo: IBC, 1991. ISBN 4871988325.
- The Solitude of Ravens: a Photographic Narrative. San Francisco: Bedford Arts, 1991. ISBN 0938491237. US reprint of the 1986 book, in English only.
- Chichi no Kioku ( / Memories of Father). Tokyo: IBC, 1991. ISBN 4871988333.
- Fukase Masahisa . Nihon no Shashinka 34. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1998. ISBN 4000083740.
- Bukubuku ( / Bubbling). Tokyo: Hysteric Glamour, 2004.
- Fukase Masahisa . Hysteric Twelve. Tokyo: Hysteric Glamour, 2004.
- Karasu ( / The Solitude of Ravens). Tokyo: Rat Hole Gallery, 2008. Reprint of the 1986 book, with afterword in Japanese and English.
Further reading
- Ollman, Arthur. The model wife: photographs by Baron Adolph de Meyer, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Harry Callahan, Emmet Gowin, Lee Friedlander, Masahisa Fukase, Seiichi Furuya, Nicholas Nixon. Boston: Little, Brown, 1999. ISBN 0821221701.
External links
- Fallis, Greg. Masahisa Fukase. Sunday Salon, Utata Tribal Photography, 21 September 2008.
- Masahisa Fukase. Portfolio of 55 images.
- Robert Mann GalleryRobert Mann GalleryRobert Mann Gallery is a New York based fine art gallery specializing in photography, established in 1985. The gallery’s program includes exhibitions of vintage masterworks as well as installations of contemporary photography that contextualize and promote newer movements in the field...
. Masahisa Fukase. Brief biography and 10 images. - The Solitude of Ravens by Masahisa Fukase (review). 15 May 2006.
- Stephen Wirtz Gallery. Masahisa Fukase. Biography. With link to 8 images in "Selected Artwork, 1975-1982."