Masahisa Fukase
PHOTOSNACK #751
Masahisa Fukase’s work is inseparable from his own life — especially his turbulent relationship and eventual separation from his wife, which profoundly shaped his photography. That personal collapse echoes through his images, most powerfully in Ravens, where loneliness and loss become haunting visual metaphors rather than simple documentation.
Thank you, Mark Darbin, for reminding us of his work.
Until next time,
Tomasz
Very good choice! I found this intriguing enough to ask chat GPT to tell me more.. Sadly Fukase ended up falling down stairs, and incapacitated enough that he was unable to take any photographs for the last 20 years of his life. Other than that this was chatGPTs recommendation to better appreciate this photographer, which I will share here for what it is worth:
If you want to experience his work properly:
Get or view Ravens (Karasu) as a book, not as random images online.
Look at it slowly, in sequence — no skimming.
Don’t try to “interpret” immediately. Let the mood settle first.
Compare it with:
Daidō Moriyama (grittier, street-focused)
Nobuyoshi Araki (more provocative, erotic)
Fukase is inward where they are outward.