It’s not unheard of for photographers, just like other creatives, to lose themselves into their work or let it take centerstage in their life. Some would commend this life-long commitment to their craft; others would dismiss or even condemn it as an obsession. The latter was the case for a renowned Japanese photographer whose dedication to photography many believe ruined his life.
In the video above, UK-based Tatiana Hopper give us a brief but insightful introduction into the work of Masahisa Fukase (Hokkaido, 1934 – 2012). Hailed as one of the most radical and experimental photographers of post-war Japan, he remains best known for his series and subsequent photobook, Karasu (Ravens/Solitude of Ravens, 1975 – 1985). Hopper touched on this celebrated body of work and his other notable projects to explore his dedication to — or obsession with — documenting everything through photography.
Hopper found that Fukase’s work is a life-long undertaking of documenting life, death, and everything in between. His work touched on a wide range of themes and subjects, such as family, the mundanity of everyday life, love, pain, and horror. However, if there was anything that hinted obsession, it was his 1973 series From Window, which featured his second wife and muse, Yoko Wanibe, whom he married in 1964.
In this series, Fukase photographed Wanibe from their home’s fourth floor window with a telephoto lens as she headed off to work. This went on the entire summer of that year, which many regarded as a “season of compulsion.” However, as Hopper also noted, the series showed only a fraction of Fukase’s photos of his life with Wanibe, and of Wanibe herself.
Many believe that it was this voyeuristic and obsessive documentation that drove Wanibe away from Fukase. “He has only seen me through the lens. I believe that all the photographs of me were unquestionably photographs of himself,” she was quoted as saying about her shutter-happy husband. It’s widely reported that she was completely convinced that Fukase was with her only for the sake of photographing her and their married life. Their divorce in 1976 sent him into a deep and dark depression, which drove him to drink heavily and spiral into frequent negative thoughts about life and himself. However, this dark episode led to Ravens, which is considered as his most important work before he suffered a fall — which left him with permanent brain damage — in 1992.
What do you think of Masahisa Fukase’s so-called obsession with photography? Do you agree with Tatiana Hopper’s introspection into his life and work? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Additional readings:
Masahisa Fukase’s tale of obsessive love, shot through an apartment window
Masahisa Fukase: Solitude of Ravens