That's not what made me say huh? I guess I feel it would be weird to go see him, a stranger, while in a coma in the hospital.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
Yes, Paul Strand was a very interesting figure.
Out to Lunch
Menteur
Alive and kicking. In 2022 he won a Dutch award for a black-and-white series of photographs showing the victims of war in the Ukrainian city of Bachmut.
Muggins
Junk magnet
Deardorff38
Mentor
My grammatical error.... of those still alive! I do follow Eddy.... he is doing important work
Taipei-metro
Mentor
Masahisa Fukase 深瀬 昌久 1934-2012
i remember his Raven works, pretty much seize work since 1992 of a brain injury ( Fell in a Bar...(try to tongue kiss another guy? i know i know it's only an act))
i'm not too much of a fan, when i see his Many Tongue Kissing (another) man's tongue photos and this Family nudes ( Mr F Masahisa left 1, wife Yoko L2...where is Grandma?)
there are just too Many out standing Japanese photographers to spend time on
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d__b
Well-known
That's a tough question but I would probably say Saul Leiter. Not only do I love his work but he also seemed like such a fun, gentle soul.
Freakscene
Obscure member
In 1992 Fukase fell down some stairs at Nami, his favourite bar in Shinjuku Golden Gai, a laneway district in Tokyo, and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was incapacitated for the rest if his life and died in 2012. He was often reported to be in a coma, but I’m not sure if that is accurate: his state of awareness and physical capacity were certainly substantially altered. Fukase has, to me, the most interesting life of any photographer, and given the curious lives many photographers have led, that’s really saying something.
Deardorff38
Mentor
Freak, what's interesting to you about his life? Wiki doesn't make it seem out of the ordinary.In 1992 Fukase fell down some stairs at Nami, his favourite bar in Shinjuku Golden Gai, a laneway district in Tokyo, and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was incapacitated for the rest if his life and died in 2012. He was often reported to be in a coma, but I’m not sure if that is accurate: his state of awareness and physical capacity were certainly substantially altered. Fukase has, to me, the most interesting life of any photographer, and given the curious lives many photographers have led, that’s really saying something.
Many photographers led/live interesting lives... seemingly more interesting to me anyways. In my book, hard to beat Vittorio Sella, travelling to wild places of the world with the Duke of Abruzzi and processing your glass plates in a tent on K2 just about beats all....
Yokosuka_Mike
Abstract Clarity
When I was a young man I thought that Robert Mapplethorpe and his photography was disgusting. That was over 40 years ago. Now I think he was a creative genius and that his photography is brilliant. Funny how time can change one’s perspective on things.
I like Masahisa Fukase’s photography. I can appreciate that he chose his creative path and followed it. That’s not always an easy thing to do.
Creative people don’t always follow the path of least resistance.
A photographer (an artist) only has to answer to him or herself. Screw everyone else.
I’ve been told that it’s cliche to use Vincent van Gogh as an example of an artist that followed his own creative path despite all odds being against him. I’m glad he did. I’ve been to museums where van Gogh’s paintings were on display… they are breathtaking!
Anyway, I just felt like putting that out there. As always, feel free to ignore me.
All the best,
Mike
I like Masahisa Fukase’s photography. I can appreciate that he chose his creative path and followed it. That’s not always an easy thing to do.
Creative people don’t always follow the path of least resistance.
A photographer (an artist) only has to answer to him or herself. Screw everyone else.
I’ve been told that it’s cliche to use Vincent van Gogh as an example of an artist that followed his own creative path despite all odds being against him. I’m glad he did. I’ve been to museums where van Gogh’s paintings were on display… they are breathtaking!
Anyway, I just felt like putting that out there. As always, feel free to ignore me.
All the best,
Mike
Freakscene
Obscure member
He seemed completely obsessive, but turned every blow and difficulty into a new, incredible, and different type of photo. Got married, photographed nothing but his wife for years. Got divorced, photographed ravens. It went on and on. And all the work is new, fresh, totally convincing and masterful. The photography is transformative and unique, almost without influence (and I have extensively studied the history of Japanese photography). My interest and fascination is on the photography. But that’s just me.
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Deardorff38
Mentor
Thank you... that seems to fit the artist as a creative compulsive......not unique to photography....
Out to Lunch
Menteur
This is why I don't understand your post about seeing him in the hospital while he was in a coma.
LuckyDog
Newbie
Phil Stern and Erwin Elliott
I'm well aware of who he is... I own a book or two. My point is that I guess I wouldn't go see him in the hospital, especially if he wasn't doing well. I'd feel it was an invasion of his privacy. I do not say this too strongly though, to each their own.In 1992 Fukase fell down some stairs at Nami, his favourite bar in Shinjuku Golden Gai, a laneway district in Tokyo, and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was incapacitated for the rest if his life and died in 2012. He was often reported to be in a coma, but I’m not sure if that is accurate: his state of awareness and physical capacity were certainly substantially altered. Fukase has, to me, the most interesting life of any photographer, and given the curious lives many photographers have led, that’s really saying something.
Yokosuka_Mike
Abstract Clarity
I get it. Marty, as far as I'm concerned there's no reason to explain further.
All the best,
Mike
Retro-Grouch
Well-known
Interesting. My position on Mapplethorpe is the opposite. Forty years ago, I thought he was cutting edge, pushing the boundaries both in content and technique. Now, though I don't find him disgusting, I find him trite and actually very conventional. He was out to provoke and get a reaction; once he did that, what else? What was provocative in the eighties warrants a big yawn now, and that's a red flag that says that his art doesn't have the staying power that truly important art does. Funny how time can change one's perspective on things!
Deardorff38
Mentor
During an exhibition of his photographs at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, I did have the pleasure of having dinner with Bradford Washburn and his wife Barbara. History speaks of him more as a cartographer and explorer, but I think he's the most significant mountain photographer, alongside Vittorio Sella.
Yokosuka_Mike
Abstract Clarity
We share opinions, we exchange ideas, we look at each other's pictures. It’s all good.
Thanks for sharing.
All the best,
Mike
Freakscene
Obscure member
At the time I was working with a lot of people suffering from traumatic brain injuries. I was in Japan, thinking about Fukase, and got in touch with some people who knew him. They said he didn’t get many visitors. Unsure of whether it would be viewed positively, I went, read to him for a while, and left. The people I met who were his carers and guardians viewed what I did positively, and I wouldn’t have seen him had I not been received this way. Visiting wasn’t about the photography, that was about trying to do something human for someone who was having a rough time. I would have liked to talk to him about photography.
I made a point in my early adult life of seeking out and meeting a lot of people who I was interested in, for one reason or another. NYT Robert Frank: New Orleans Trolley Often they didn’t talk about photography, or whatever the core component of my interest in them was. Sometimes they didn’t really talk a lot at all. Maybe it’s my manner, but I was only asked to go away once, which I did immediately. You can learn a lot about people’s lives, attitudes, and, ultimately, about the things you are interested in about them from small seemingly peripheral details if you go about obtaining them the right way and can absorb them without bias or judgement. I feel like I’m a better person for having done these things, and I can see most people’s points of view, even if I disagree with them.