「Look at the Picture and Talk about the Painting」Nobuyoshi Araki: Flowers and the Truth of Life

When the camera focused on the withered flowers and the lifeless specimens labeled “JAMORINSKY”, Nobuyoshi Araki broke through the seemingly beautiful surface of flower photography. He depicted the most raw truth of life through the blooming and decay of a single flower.

The work “The World of the Young Girl” is by Nobuyoshi Araki, a piece that focuses on youth and nature. It is like a crown of youth, yet also carries a mysterious sense of ceremony, laying the groundwork for the exploration of life.

In 1990, the death of his wife, Yoko, marked the beginning of a transformation in his artistic creation. Flowers became the medium through which he expressed his thoughts on life and death. The “Flower Life” series was thus born. He focused the black-and-white camera on the blooming and withering of flowers, using the captured images to express his condolences, and established the core proposition that flowers symbolize the metaphor of life and death.

The “Pornographic Flowers” series embarked on a more groundbreaking aesthetic rebellion. He intensified the rich colors of the petals with pigments, enlarged the delicate stamens into passionate and alluring symbols of desire, and deconstructed the elegant and restrained narrative in traditional flower photography through intense sensory experiences, thereby subverting the concept of “perfect aesthetics”.

The “Flowers and JAMORINSKY” series presents a more direct confrontation between life and death. “JAMORINSKY” is the name he gave to the dead lizard he brought back for his beloved cat Chilo. He placed the bouquet of flowers alongside the dried and stiff corpse of the lizard, creating a strong visual contrast.

The lifeless and shriveled body of the lizard, along with the vibrant but short-lived flowers, coexist, creating a powerful visual impact and shifting the topic of life and death from personal grief to contemplation of the laws of life.

Nobuyoshi Araki’s flowers are not mere scenic beauties for people to admire. The moments of blooming and withering that are captured have transcended personal emotions and have become an exploration of the essence of life. Imperfection is the truth, and death is also a form of blooming. This is the philosophy of life captured by his camera.

The tea for today is all gone. Next time, I’ll brew a fresh pot and enjoy art with you again.