Shi Nikki (Private Diary) For Robert Frank

This book presents an unpublished portfolio of Japanese artist Nobuyoshi Araki, whose work is recognized for being in direct contact with his reality, which he experiences, lives and transforms into “fiction. ”
It brings together 101 black and white photographs dedicated to Robert Frank, a photographer he admired, and is published on the occasion of the exhibition of the photographic series “101 Works For Robert Frank”, presented for the first time at the Bourse du Commerce from December 2021 to March 2022.

Produced by Araki in 1993, three years after the death of his wife, Yoko Aoki, the series “101 Works For Robert Frank” brings together 101 black and white photographs. In the austerity of the studio or in the privacy of the bedroom, the photographer captures the female model in postures of strict frontality, explicit and uncompromising, just as in erotic scenes. These images are interspersed with photographs of the daily life of Araki, now widowed: still lifes, streets and sky of Tokyo, the cat Chiro adopted with his wife… The street photographs echoing the work of Robert Frank (1924-2019), pioneer of American photography, to whom Araki dedicated this series on the occasion of his exhibition at the Yokohama Museum. In this juxtaposition, Araki explores his intimate surroundings and questions his desire as well as the loss of a loved one.