Legendary, iconic etc… These words are too often used when a photographer leaves us. But a few days ago, Eikō Hosoe has left us and in his case these qualifiers are relevant, and many others too.
We choose to celebrate him by presenting again today one of his most important works, (Barakei) Ordeal by Roses.
In 1963, Hosoe was just 30 years old and collaborating with another legend, author Yukio Mishima, to create a series of photographs that are as stunning and formidable today as when they became an international sensation.
The screen you’re looking at doesn’t do them justice.
Years ago I had the privilege of looking at the original prints, caressing them after acquiring a complete set of the series at auction for a friend of mine at Christie’s in New York.
It was an epic battle. Do you remember, Philippe?
To say that the prints were hypnotic would be an understatement.
There is much more than Barakai when we talk about the work of Eikō Hosoe, but it is for him what Citizen Kane was for Orson Welles.
After looking at Hosoe’s footage, another tidbit…
In 1979, in Arles, Eikō Hosoe gave a nude workshop during the Rencontres, and our collaborator Jacques Revon was present with his camera.
He sent me his photos last night, here they are for you this morning.
Gilles Decamps
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