Katsuji Fukuda

« Fukuda Katsuji was born in 1899. Except for a few years after the Great Kanto Earthquake when he was trying to establish his career in places such as Nakanoseki, Sakai, Hiroshima and Osaka, Fukuda spent his long life working in Tokyo.

After returning to Tokyo for good in 1933, Fukuda had a successful career in advertising photography, specializing in still lifes and nudes with modernist influences, as well as authoring practical books on photography. A series of photographs in Asahi Camera in 1936 featuring portraits of Setsuko Hara and Takako Irie were very popular and led to his first photobooks of women.

After the war Fukuda was one of the first prominent photographers to experiment with color and continued to publish collections of nude studies and books on technique. However his emphasis on the aesthetics of beauty made his work seem old-fashioned during the postwar wave of realism led by Ken Domon and the trends that followed. In 1974 he was not among the 100 living photographers profiled by Camera Mainichi.

However, in 1979 his contribution to the famed Sonorama Shashin Sensho, « Psalm » led to reassessments of his contributions. In the afterword of Psalm, Akira Hasegawa pointed out that « …there are no photographers of women in Japan even today who have not been influenced by Fukuda in one way or another. Many techniques commonly used today were developed by Fukuda, a fact which has been forgotten. »

Fukuda continued working in his old age, long enough to see the increasing estimations of his work that has continued to this day. Now he is often anthologized in collections of Modernist and mid-century works. » text From the catalogue A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Lapetitemelancolie6 janvier 2013,  les articles avec la date sont sauvegardés sur archives.orgKatsuji Fukuda -Shell of Light, 1949 From the catalogue A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda -Shell of Light, 1949 From the catalogue A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda -Shell of Light, 1949 From the catalogue A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda -Shell of Light, 1949

Katsuji Fukuda –Shell of Light, 1949 ( detail)

Katsuji Fukuda - Untitled Nude,1951

Katsuji Fukuda – Untitled Nude,1951 From the catalogue A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- nude , 1946 From A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- nude , 1946 From A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- Nude, 1951. A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- Nude, 1951. A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- Nude, 1956 from A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- Nude, 1956 from A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- Untitled,1948 From A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- Untitled,1948 From A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- nude with flower, 1946 From A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- nude with flower, 1946 From A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- Nude, 1951. A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- Nude, 1951. A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- 3 nude From A Solitary Modernist Photographer Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

Katsuji Fukuda- 3 nudes From « A Solitary Modernist Photographer » Katsuji Fukuda Exhibition catalogue. Japan Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1994

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Katsuji Fukuda nude from the book Hana to Rafu to - Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

Katsuji Fukuda nude from the book Hana to Rafu to – Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

Katsuji Fukuda nude from the book Hana to Rafu to - Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

Katsuji Fukuda nude from the book Hana to Rafu to – Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

Katsuji Fukuda nude from the book Hana to Rafu to - Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

Katsuji Fukuda nude from the book Hana to Rafu to – Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

Katsuji Fukuda nude from the book Hana to Rafu to - Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

Katsuji Fukuda nude from the book Hana to Rafu to – Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

Fukuda Katsuku - untitled from the book Hana to Rafu to - Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 19473

Fukuda Katsuku – untitled from the book Hana to Rafu to – Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

Fukuda Katsuku - untitled from the book Hana to Rafu to - Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

Fukuda Katsuku – untitled from the book Hana to Rafu to – Nude et Fleur Japan, Ivuningusuta-sha (Evening Star Sha), 1947

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Katsuji Fukuda-Onna no utsushikata -, 1937 from the book Photokunst von Frauen) - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS,

Katsuji Fukuda-Onna no utsushikata -, 1937 from the book  – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Katsuji Fukuda-portrait-, 1937 from the book How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Katsuji Fukuda-portrait-, 1937 from the book How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Katsuji Fukuda-portrait cover , 1937 from the book Photokunst von Frauen – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Katsuji Fukuda- portrait cover , 1937 from the book Photokunst von Frauen – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku 1937 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku 1937 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1937 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1937 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Katsuji Fukuda-Gheisha , 1937 from the book How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Katsuji Fukuda-Gheisha , 1937 from the book How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1937 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1937 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

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Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS 7

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku -Portrait from 1939 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Fukuda Katsuku - 1939 from the book - How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS 8

Fukuda Katsuku – 1939 from the book – How to Photograph Women. Japan ARS

Minayoshi Takada (高田 皆義) (1889–1982)

les photographies de nus prises entre 1947 et 1950 par Minayoshi Takada ont  à la fois un intérêt  esthétique et érotique. En tant qu’ éditeur de magazine de photographies ,et developpeur,  il fût une figure influente de la photographie japonaise en matière de nus durant de nombreux années.

Dans un grand nombre de son travail, le corp des modèles sont étroitement encadrées et réduits à des éléments semi-abstraites, rappelant les nus composés d’Edward Weston à partir des années 1920. Ici, cependant, cette simplicité radicale est devenue un cliché, et il se tourne rapidement vers une conception plus « graphique » . Takada donne à ses images une touche surréaliste en développant des négatifs ensemble, combinant nus avec  des chaloupes, de fleurs et d’autres objets. Ces juxtapositions sont toujours formellement élégante et donne à ses images une étrangeté convaincante ainsi  qu’une suggestivité onirique.

 

Minayoshi Takada Nude , 1947

Minayoshi Takada Nude , 1947

Minayoshi Takada -Nude lying on sand,  e 1948

Minayoshi Takada -Nude lying on sand,  1948

Minayoshi Takada -Nude lying on sand, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -Tucked nude, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -   Nude by window, 1948

Minayoshi Takada – Nude by window, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -  Nude lying down, 1948

Minayoshi Takada – Nude lying down, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -  Nude lying , 1948

Minayoshi Takada – Nude lying , 1948

Minayoshi Takada-  Nude on Beach, 1948

Minayoshi Takada- Nude on Beach, 1948

Minayoshi Takada-  Kneeling Nude , 1948

Minayoshi Takada- Kneeling Nude , 1948

Minayoshi Takada- Nude on rocks, 1948

Minayoshi Takada- Nude on rocks, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -Nude perched on ground, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -Nude perched on ground, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -  Nude , 1948

Minayoshi Takada – Nude , 1948

Minayoshi Takada -   Nude leaning backwards, 1948

Minayoshi Takada – Nude leaning backwards, 1948

Minayoshi Takada - Nude looking over her shoulder, 1948

Minayoshi Takada – Nude looking over her shoulder, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -Nude with parasol, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -Nude with parasol, 1948

Minayoshi Takada- Double exposure- nude and leaves,1948

Minayoshi Takada- Double exposure- nude and leaves,1948

Minayoshi Takada- Double exposure, 1948

Minayoshi Takada- Double exposure, 1948

Minayoshi Takada-  Nude, Double Exposure, 1948

Minayoshi Takada- Nude, Double Exposure, 1948

Minayoshi Takada- Nude torso in shadow, 1948

Minayoshi Takada- Nude torso in shadow, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -  Nude , 1948

Minayoshi Takada – Nude , 1948

Minayoshi Takada -  Nude , 1948

Minayoshi Takada – Nude , 1948

Minayoshi Takada -Kimono, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -Kimono, 1948

Minayoshi Takada -   Nude with Flower , 1948

Minayoshi Takada – Nude with Flower , 1948

Minayoshi Takada- Canoe, 1950

Minayoshi TakadaCanoe, 1950

 

Minayoshi Takada -  The unknown, 1950

Minayoshi Takada – The unknown, 1950

Minayoshi Takada Double Exposure- Nude sitting with a rowing boat, c. 1948

Minayoshi Takada Double Exposure- Nude sitting with a rowing boat, c. 1948

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