Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery
Second in our series featuring Japanese photographers, we present a selection of works by Masahisa Fukase (1934-2012), who is perhaps best known for his celebrated series Karasu, or The Solitude of Ravens (1986), one of the most acclaimed photography books of the 20th century. Fukase photographed these magnificent birds over a period of ten years following his painful separation from wife and muse Yōko Wanibe. For Fukase, the ravens were undoubtedly symbolic of lost love and heartbreak, but these images transcend personal iconography with a universal emotional resonance. Their raw starkness conveys a powerful connection to the mysteries of the natural world and the ancient, trans-cultural mythologies surrounding the symbol of the raven.
Fukase was born in the small town of Bifuka, in the Nakagawa district of Hokkaido, the eldest son of a family that ran a provincial photography studio. It was there that Fukase created another of his groundbreaking bodies of work, the “Family” series, photographed over the stretch of time between 1971-1989 and published as a book in 1991. These elegantly rendered photographs subtly address the complexities of familial, social, and traditional life in Japan. Fukase subverted the customary format of traditional family portraits, drawing attention to uncomfortable truths and ambiguities which formal portraits often suppress. With a playful self-awareness, Fukase’s “Family” series delivers a meditative reflection on the practice of family portraiture and the role of photography in our personal and collective histories.
Masahisa Fukase graduated from Nihon University College of Art's Photography Department in 1956, and became a freelance photographer in 1968. Fukase’s work has been exhibited widely at institutions such as MoMA, New York, the Oxford Museum of Modern Art, the Foundation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. His work is held in major collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and The Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
Our gratitude to Michael Hoppen Gallery, London for collaborating on this feature with PhotoAlliance, please contact the gallery for more information about Fukase’s work and original prints.
Masahisa Fukase books are available through Mack Publishing.