BLUE PERIOD / LAST SUMMER : ARAKINEMA by Nobuyoshi Araki

Publisher: Session Press, 217

Softcover with slipcase

260 x 178.3 mm

216 pages

Language ‏ : ‎ English

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 099665741X

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0996657419

Blue Period / Last Summer: Arakinema sheds light on a lesser-known project by Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki—the experimental films comprising his performance series, "Arakinema."

Two essential films from Araki’s “Arakinema” series are reproduced in this publication by Session Press. In both “Blue Period” and “Last Summer,” nudes and portraits alternate with floral scenes and street snaps. Directly working from the 140 original slides used for both projections, the book successfully provides a fresh review of the photographer’s hidden oeuvre, recapturing the true spirit and atmosphere of the original Arakinema performances.

“The two films should be seen as a set, since Blue Period is about the past and Last Summer is about the future. By removing color using a chemical solution, Blue Period represents an act of subtraction (past), whereas adding color to the images in Last Summer represents an act of addition (future). This project is akin to life itself.” — Nobuyoshi Araki