Tokyo Nude, 1990 Kishin Shinoyama

Tokyo Nude, 1990 Kishin Shinoyama

BOND ART KISHIN SHINOYAMA 91 CELEBRATED JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHER KISHIN SHINOYAMA IS KNOWN FOR HIS DIVERSE STYLE, WHICH INCLUDES NUDES, TOPICAL EVENTS AND CELEBRITY PORTRAITS. HE TALKS TO BOND ABOUT HIS WORK Kishin Shinoyama began working professionally, taking photographs for the Light Publicity agency, while still a student at Nihon University. He became a successful freelance photographer, most memorably photographing pop stars and celebrities, and taking travel pictures of the Silk Road. His work made him something of a celebrity himself, particularly in Japan. Later he popularized a technique he called Gekisha, involving pictures of young, amateur-model, Japanese females. Shinoyama is also known for works featuring Tokyo, tattoos and travel subjects. A recent project is his book, Atokata, documenting the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck the east coast of Japan so savagely in March, 2011. In order to see the truth of things, you have to look at them from lots of different angles or points of view YOUR IMAGE OF JOHN LENNON AND YOKO ONO TAKEN FOR THE ALBUM DOUBLE FANTASY IS VERY FAMOUS IN THE WEST. HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT? I was shooting on location in Los Angeles when Yoko called me from New York, asking me to go over there to photograph the cover art of the new album that she and John were working on. I arrived at New York two days later, and met John for the first time as he was recording in the studio. He was surprisingly mild-mannered, and there was a gentle smile to the eyes that lurked behind those round glasses. WHAT WAS THE RECORDING SESSION LIKE? As John sang, Yoko sat in the control room and provided feedback. And so the creative process, as the two were bound closely together by a mutual sense of trust, went on. We d lost track of time. With no windows in the room we didn t know what it was like outside, but most likely it was already late in the afternoon. A young boy, came into the room, protected by a giant bodyguard. It was their son, Sean. John and Yoko played for him a song that had literally just been recorded, Beautiful Boy. Sean hugged his father, as Yoko watched. WHERE WAS THE COVER PICTURE TAKEN? The photo that would become the cover art of Double Fantasy was taken in Central Park, right in front of their home at the Dakota. There were only a few people around as John and Yoko sat on a bench by the pond in the autumn sunset. I asked them to kiss. THE PHOTO WAS SHOT JUST THREE MONTHS BEFORE LENNON S MURDER. HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU HEARD THE NEWS? It was shocking. I said to myself that nothing is taken for granted. It is so hard to accept reality sometimes. A photograph becomes a piece of the past the moment it is shot; you could describe it as a device that captures the death of time. But even a photographer can t help but feel unsettled when this becomes reality so suddenly. I shot the photo in color, but for some reason the actual cover art was released in black-and-white.

20XX Tokyo Kishin Shinoyama The Sixties Kishin Shinoyama

BOND ART 93 WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ATOKATA AS THE NAME OF YOUR BOOK ON THE JAPANESE TSUNAMI? 20XX Tokyo Kishin Shinoyama Atokata in Japanese not only means mark or trace, but also what is left behind, none left or we mustn t forget what we had there. I wanted to show what nature had done and how powerful nature is, and furthermore that nothing stays unchanged. Atokata I recreated the word in myself represents the complicated mixture of feelings. Feelings like the past, loss, recollections, sentiment, change and the future. It is so hard to accept reality sometimes DO YOU REMEMBER THE SOUNDS OF THE AREA? HAD YOU BEEN TO THAT PART OF JAPAN BEFORE? I heard serenity, silence. The sounds of wind and waves. I had never been to that place, but I knew that nobody could pretend not to see or hear what had happened to the land. Nobody in Japan could ignore what was happening to the people and to their lives. A very strong emotion struck me, a kind of I must go, I must go and I must take pictures as a witness and record what really happened, this shocking reality, we have to face it. The place I went to is Sendai City in the Miyagi prefecture where the earthquake and tsunami hit hard. I went there 50 days after the tsunami. I could not believe what my eyes were looking at. Wrecked ships climbing uphill, cars hanging on the trees, houses and buildings that had melted into pieces, like children s toys. It looked as if the earth had lost the force of gravity. DO YOU HAVE DIFFERENT APPROACHES FOR THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUBJECTS THAT YOU SHOOT? Photographers are the reflection of the era and the mirror of the time. I just keep shooting the people, objects, things and the events that I encounter in this time on earth.

BOND ART 94 Atokata, 2011 Kishin Shinoyama THE STAR OF SEVERAL OF YOUR BOOKS IS REALLY TOKYO. WHAT IS IT THAT EXCITES YOU SO MUCH ABOUT THE CITY? I was born in Tokyo and brought up in Tokyo, and live in Tokyo. Shooting Tokyo is my life s work. I can t get away from Tokyo. Tokyo is in my veins. YOUR TOKYO IMAGES ARE OFTEN INDOORS AT NIGHT, WITH NEON COLORS, AND YOUR NUDES ARE USUALLY OUTDOORS IN BLACK-AND-WHITE. WHY IS THAT? In order to see the truth of things, you have to look at them from lots of different angles or points of view. Sometimes you need to doubt, question, admire, hate. To understand Tokyo I am willing to deceive my eyes, which can be too familiar with the city scene. Sometimes I need to pose an unnatural object such as a naked body at an urban site in order to see the myth and the essence of Tokyo. YOU DEVELOPED A SHOOTING STYLE CALLED GEKISHA, WHICH TRANSLATED FROM THE JAPANESE IS SOMETHING LIKE AGITATED SHOT. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT? It started in the male magazine called GORO in the 1980s. I did not want the stereotypical shooting style for portraying young Japanese women. Instead, I wanted to shoot them as vivid and erotic. That is how Gekisha developed. ANOTHER OF YOUR SHOOTING STYLES WAS CALLED SHINORAMA. WHY AND WHERE DO YOU USE THIS STYLE? I made up the word Shinorama by combining my name, Shinoyama, with panorama for this technique, taking photographs with several connected cameras, in a kind of gimmicky way. I also used this shooting style a lot in the 1980s. Tokyo at that time was exciting and eccentric, and taking photographs with only one camera was not enough to catch that. Shooting Tokyo is my life s work DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST NUDE THAT YOU PHOTOGRAPHED? The first time I took a nude photo was when I was a university student. I remember I found it very interesting, not as a human body but as a physical object, like a doctor looking at the human body. I ve been photographing the body throughout my career. To me the body is the object, the eros, and it can bewitch your eyes. As an image, the body is the infinite for me. HOW DO YOU GET MODELS TO FEEL RELAXED AND COMFORTABLE? Respect for the models, and having trust between the photographer and the model. HAS SHOOTING NUDES ON URBAN LOCATIONS EVER CAUSED PROBLEMS? Sometimes I need adventures When I made my book 20XX Tokyo, I had a police raid at my house because I shot nudes in public places. As you can imagine, it is not easy to take nudes outdoors. YOUR IMAGES OFTEN LOOK LIKE SCULPTURE. DO YOU DRAW THEM OR PLAN THEM AHEAD OF TIME? No, I don t draw them beforehand. I meet the models and then I follow what inspires me and I express it freely. HOW ABOUT YOU, THE PHOTOGRAPHER. DO YOU FEEL NUDE WITHOUT A CAMERA? I feel more nude with a camera.

The Sixties Kishin Shinoyama