Raised in a family that managed a photographic studio in Japan, Masahisa Fukase He took his photographic career early, obtaining growing success over the years. Among his most famous works stands out a series of images taken to his muse and second wife, Yoko Wanibe, during their long coexistence.
Starting in 1973, every morning, while Yoko was preparing to leave their Tokyo apartment to go to work, Fukase photographed her from the window, giving life to shots framed from above. Was born like this the series “From Window”.
What was initially a spontaneous gesture soon became a daily ritual, a habit that inexorably marked the beginning of the day for both. So much so that over time, those photos turned into a sort of visual “documentary” of their link. It is interesting to note the mood changes and Yoko’s poses, who changed with the changing days.
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The real reasons that pushed Fukase to immortalize their wife daily remain to be clarified: certainly his intent was not simply documenting their daily life. It is more likely that it was a way to face with less anguish daily detachment, an attempt to contain separation anxiety, but also a delicate sign of affection towards his wife.
Their relationship, however, did not resist over time and culminated in a divorce that Fukase seemed to have somehow anticipated with his photographs.
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After the separation, which was a choice of his wife, the latter declared: – he looked at me only through the aim of a camera. The photos he took me were, without doubt, depictions of himself. –
The divorce put a strain on the Fukase test, making him fall into a deep depression that lasted about 6 years, during which he photographed many crows, then published in the book “Ravens”.
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