Surrealism, Anthropology, Photography: Then and Now by NYU Photography & Imaging

SURREALISM, ANTHROPOLOGY, PHOTOGRAPHY: THEN AND NOW

PHTI-UT.1120.001 S PRING 2020 P ROF . S HELLEY R ICE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Anna Betts, "A Forgotten Surrealist: Sueños, by Grete Stern" 2. Nina Dietz, "Zoe Leonard: Manufactured Lives" 3. Karolina Lajch, "Fantasy and Reality in The Act of Killing" 4. Dani Loya, "Pieter Hugo: Looking Through Both an Artistic and Documentary Lens" 5. Katie McGowan, "Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country" 6. Shina Peng, "Eikoh Hosoe" 7. Robin Takami, "Surrealism and Culture Through the Lens of Hiroshi Sugimoto"

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

This seminar focuses on the links between Anthropology and the Surrealist movement, especially in the 1920s in Paris, and the ways in which these interrelationships influenced both the course of modernism and the history of photography. In documentary straight photographs by artists like Atget, Eli Lotar, Walker Evans, CartierBresson, and Man Ray, in collage works like those by Claude Cahun , Max Ernst and Hannah Hoch, in book works by Michel Leiris, Andre Bréton and Jindrich Styrsky, in films by Jean Rouch and Maya Deren, the concepts of culture, of colonialism, of race and sexuality were defined and redefined, as traditions of the Other called into question the founding principles of Western civilization. Readings will include texts by James Clifford, Elizabeth Edwards, Ian Walker, David Bate, Dawn Ades, Chris Pinney and Okwui Enwezor. Students discover not only the history of “ethnographic surrealism” but also its enduring traces in global photography as they research papers and seminar reports about contemporary non-Western artists.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

Katie McGowan Surrealism Professor Shelley Rice April 11, 2020

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country The 1970 s feminis mo emen incl ded names like Gloria S einem, Be

2 Friedan, and

Bell Hooks. After spending their youths in the 1950s, they worked against not only political opposition to women (i.e. Roe V Wade), but also the societal ideas that women needed to sit still, be pretty, be quiet, and succumb to the ever-fascinating role of the housewife. A lesser remembered feminist artist, Martha Wilson, has just recently been recognized for her work not only in the conceptual art world, but also within the feminist movement. Working across mediums of literature, performance, and photography while also playing the roles of artist, curator, and non-profit founder, Wilson uses the entirety of her being to spread the ideals of the feminist avant-garde, striving for change within the art world and beyond. Three projects in particular, Captivating a Man, A Portfolio of Models, and Political Evolution show an evolution in the timeline and experience of her works. Working chronologically, these projects all relate back to showing the unsaid and showing the underneath of any given moment; in other words, she reveals the surreal. By means of shapeshifting and parody, Wilson explores her own identity while questioning the identities of other people and places. Thinking through Hannah H ch s feminis collages including Cut with a Kitchen Knife (fig. 1) and the self-portraits of Claude Cahun (fig. 2), Wilson comes out of a tradition of gender questioning and bending. Working over forty years after her predecessors, Wilson takes these ideas and applies them to her current political era; by taking on tropes through performance, she gives both herself and the United States new, more earnest, identities from the understood but unrecognized. In 1972, Wilson created the work Captivating a Man (fig. 3). In this year, she had completed one year towards her Ph.D. in literature in Nova Scotia while teaching at the Nova

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

Scotia College of Art and Design, a hotbed for conceptual art. 1 Her artist boyfriend, who she notes had a striking resemblance to Marcel Duchamp, d mped [her] ass, and [she] mo ed o Ne York so [she] o ldn ha e o see his girlfriend dri ing he car aro nd Halifa .

Before

the breakup, she photographed him as Rrose Sélavy for his striking resemblance to Duchamp. Wilson fills a tight frame with his upper body cloaked in black fur. A matching hat adorns his head, while pieces of short auburn hair frame and disguise his face. Bright blue eyeshadow and pale pink lipstick are painted on his soft face; the bags under his eyes somehow seem delicate, acting as a balance for his round, seductive eyes. His face alludes to a sort of longing or desperation, and his arm clutches her breast in a form of defense, or rather to hide his aggressively mannish hands. A shor poem a ached reads: A re ersal of the means by which a woman captivates a man: The man is made attractive by the woman. In heterosexual reversal, the po er of make p

rns back on i self; cap i a ion is emasc la ion. In his s a emen , Wilson

addresses her position photographing her boyfriend who is posing as a woman. Rather than using makeup as a tool of desire to be put on the heterosexual woman, it is a means of castrating the man. The is als of his image are s rikingl similar o Man Ra s por rai of Marcel D champ s alter ego Rrose Sélavy (fig. 4). Aside from her ex-lo er s resemblance o he ar is , the relation between the artist in terms of the conceptual art movement is noteworthy. At

PPOW Galler , Mar ha Wilson, PPOW Galler , 28 April 2020, https://www.ppowgallery.com/artist/marthawilson/biography. 1

William Simmons, In er ie s: Mar ha Wilson, Ar For m, 16 Febr ar 2015, https://www.artforum.com/interviews/martha-wilson-discusses-upcoming-retrospectives-of-her-work-and-franklinfurnace-50333. 2

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country NSCAD, Duchamp was closer to a god than a man. 3 Coined he an i-ar is b

4 he Pegg

Guggenheim Collection, Duchamp worked in a surrealist way before the movement had even gained momentum. 4 Gi en his no abili

in Wilson s concep al circles, Captivating a Man

works on something more than just a personal level; it is not merely photographing her lover in parody. She acknowledges privileges of being a white man in the art sphere, and D champ s privilege of emasculating himself with an alter ego. Eugénie Lemoine-L ccioni s note of a pho ographer s cas ra ing role makes perfec sense in his ins ance; i h a camera, Duchamp has the ability to castrate at will, has the choice to be viewed as a woman with desire, and allows a man to interpret images with a judgmental, albeit purposeful or not, gaze. 5 Posing as Man Ray, Wilson puts her lover in the same position. In a gender reversal, she suddenly gets the power o er her bo friend s gender in drag. With these loaded ideas embedded in the persona of Rrose Sélavy, Wilson takes this image as an act of power; the gendered constructions surrounding the male gaze are questioned a

ill in Wilson s do ble reali

presen ed within the portrait. Giving a nod to her conceptual

predecessor, but also questioning his ability to shapeshift, Wilson engages at a high level with the notion of presenting as a new gender as a white man in the art world. She allows her boyfriend to be Rrose Sélavy the woman, turning him into an object which she can perpetrate the male gaze upon as the photographer. He is suddenly the object for male consumption; this is not his reality, though. He has the luxury of picking when to be seen this way, and by who. He

Jayne Wark, Radical Gestures: Feminism and Performance Art in North America (Quebec: McGill-Q een s University Press, 2006), 148. 4 Marcel Duchamp exh. cat. (Ottowa: The National Gallery of Canada, 1997), Introduction by Dennis Young. 3

Amelia G. Jones, The Ambi alence of Male Masq erade: D champ as Rrose S la , in The Body Imaged, edited by Kathleen Adler and Marcia Pointon, 2-31 (Cambridge, New York, and Oakleigh: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 26. 5

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

follows in the tradition of Duchamp, using gender as a means of complicating their own cis narratives. Stacking on multiple identities at a time, this theme of complexity within roleplaying ill persis

i hin Wilson s bod of ork. As one of her earlier pieces, Captivating a Man sets a

lens through which the art world can access her work. Coming from an outwardly feminist concep al bend, Wilson s pieces embrace conf sing iden i ies and q es ioning gender stereotypes, privileges, and nuances. Wilson describes her o n ork as an iden i new self out of the absence ha paren s ideas ere s b rac ed

as lef 6

making process

hen m bo friends ideas, m

[she] co ld genera e a eachers , and m

In crafting new identities for herself, she tries on tropes women

fall into during her performance project A Portfolio of Models. Working from gendered assumptions as a whole rather than using the niche notion of Rrose Sélavy and Man Ray, Wilson dresses up as six different kinds of women stereotyped in the United States during the seventies. J di h B ler s idea of gender ins bordina ion permea es his piece as Wilson becomes the goddess, the lesbian, the housewife, the working girl, the professional, and the earth mother; any performance of gender becomes drag as she tries to become an impossible ideal. 7 In each of these performances, Wilson adds a poem explaining how each of the personas exists in a comparative space, unable to be themselves. Each character works on the assumptions and thoughts of others, particularly men. The goddess figure is what each persona tries to be, yet he goddess herself is onl adored for her ph sicali . Her descrip ion reads, The Goddess: Her presence is felt by both men and women, and every member of society past the age of five is

L c Lippard, Making Up: Role-Pla ing and Transforma ion in Women s Ar , in The Pink Glass Swan, edited by Lucy Lippard, 89-98 (New York: The New Press, 1995), 94. 6

L c Lippard, Mo ing Targe s / Concen ric Circles: No es from he Radical Whirl ind, in The Pink Glass Swan, edited by Lucy Lippard, 3-28 (New York: The New Press, 1995), 22. 7

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country a are of her

She has se -appeal.

he her she is in elligen is irrele an , (fig. 5). The

Housewife aspires o goddessdom (fig. 6), hile he Ear h Mo her claims she doesn gi e a shi abo

he goddess

she is j s as conscio s of he goddess as he s b rban q een (fig.7).

Each figure is onl con e

ali ed b Wilson s ri ing; he e is agains blank backgro nds

i h minimal props. Cos ming and pose e plain each of Wilson s aken iden i ies in hese images. While the Goddess gets a silky jumpsuit, sultry face, and powerfully sexy pose, the Housewife is left looking awkwardly bundled with a cup of coffee, and the Earth Mother looks emotionless, twirling her peasant dress with an ominous shadow lurking behind her. This shadow is featured in all other images of the series, excluding the elusive Goddess. Each of he less- han charac ers ha e s range, masc line, shado ed fig res direc l o er heir shoulders. It is as if these figures created out of assumption are unable to escape the looks of men, even in their white walled worlds. In contras , his shado co ld also be he Goddess s imposing pressure, always behind the woman. The work of the seamless in this work not only offers the ability for shadows to lurk, but also allows these women to be pulled out of time. Without signifiers like kitchen appliances, in the case of the Housewife, it is difficult to tell what era the images are in. Thus, their boxed in personalities, which extend through to today, can be conceptualized by the viewer to be a present struggle rather than a moment of the past. Using the La ra M l e s no ion of o-be-looked-at-ness , Wilson direc l

orks i h he ideas of ho is

seen and who deserves to be seen in this work while acknowledging the extent to which women, including herself, try and fit into these prescribed forms in order to be seen.8 Once they are seen as these forms, however, they disappear into the crowd.

La ra M l e , Vis al Pleas re and Narra i e Cinema, Screen, Volume 16, Issue 3 (Autumn 1975), 6 18.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

Wilson allows herself to be more open with the viewer by addressing the fact that she has bits and pieces of all of these forms inside of her identity, as any woman would.9 She notes that she cannot fit into a box other than her own, yet shows the viewer facets of herself in this performance through these various prescribed forms. Throughout the piece she works through gendered assumptions and get-ups in a humorous tone; she addresses the unsaid forms of women and turns herself into each of them. By working in this way, she critiques the gendered roles of women within the United States in particular while using poetic writing to point out the flaws in our collective thinking about women and their role in the workforce. Hannah Höch s Cut with a Kitchen Knife (fig. 1) works on these same gendered wavelengths; she cuts images from newspapers, slicing post-war media into a photomontage of chaos. Long legs and tight clothing on the female body cover a canvas somehow dominated by the male face. Absurd in form but aggressive in commentary, Hoch calls out the forced domestic roles of women amidst industrial boom and the dada art movement. In the lower right corner of the canvas, Hoch includes a map showing the few European countries who allowed women to vote.10 Working o

ardl

i h iss es in ol ing omen s ineq ali , Hoch links o Wilson on a

broad, conceptual level. More closely related is the link between photomontage: slicing up a newspaper o make a poin , and Wilson s slicing of face s of herself and o her omen ha he gender has been limited to. Both artists work with suppositions of the female body and the expectations that come with such suppositions; in Hoch s se of pa ched, gender ambig o s bodies and Wilson s embodimen of female s ereo pes, he bo h speak o the world for women

Martha Wilson, Sourcebook, (New York: Independent Curators International, 2011), 49.

Kristin Makholm, "Strange Beauty: Hannah Höch and the Photomontage," MoMA, no. 24 (1997), 19-23.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

which has always been understood as a subordinate position. This position is not often enough acknowledged, critiqued, and actively, publicly fought against. Wilson carries this idea of roles for women into her series Political Evolution. Across years and presidencies, Wilson has performed as first ladies and commander in chiefs, putting on outrageous costume and assuming the characters of people who have been meticulously trained on how to present in the media and to the American public. By physically taking on these roles, Wilson rewrites the identity of the country through its revered and abhorred leaders. In her performance of Nancy Reagan (fig. 8), Wilson wears a silvery wig, gloves to her elbows, a tight black playsuit with perfect black pumps. This is Ms. Reagan s ac ress look: she looks like she might be ready to club or perform. In alternate performances, Wilson presents Nancy in her first lady light (fig. 9). This performance s le as fea red a he G erilla Girls landmark performance at the Palladium as the first female group to show at the club. 11 With a high neckline and low hem, she preaches about how cancer is the natural response to the en ironmen and conservative is the way to go. 12 In this case in particular, Wilson shows the duality of her subject between private life and First Lady life, as well as the differences between her inner, more true self and how she projects herself into the world. Wilson expresses different sides of Ms. Reagan in each performance, emphasizing her façade presented as the First Lady. Wilson questions the role of a wife

a sidepiece in the political game, a unique identity with

nuances of being quiet, polite, and philanthropic but not too politically active, or at the very least

L c Lippard, Guerilla Girls, in The Pink Glass Swan, edited by Lucy Lippard, 254-257. (New York: The New Press, 1995), 255. 11

Jarret Earnest, First Lady of Performance Art, Brooklyn Rail, 2014, https://brooklynrail.org/2014/11/art/marthawilson-with-jarrett-earnest. 12

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

nin ol ed in her h sband s doings. Of co rse, his comes i h he e er-present question of why e can ha e a oman or LGBTQ person in office. Mar ha Wilson s por ra al of Barbara B sh (fig. 10) follo s he same arg men s, leaning into the idea of beauty for aging women in particular. While she put on a showier performance as Nancy Regan, this more nuanced take on Barbara Bush allows for a little more time contemplating. She still has a bad wig and gives hollow speeches about patriotism, but the images are less affronting. A classically conservative outfit, complete with pearls, alone offers a great commentary on the state of the office in the 1990s. She figh s for he righ o stand by her man, jargon ha reminds of Ph llis Schlafl s an i-ERA rhetoric.13 This unveiling of the understood but unsaid is still humorous but becomes frightening as it rides the line between reality and fiction. The ords coming o

Wilson s scrip co ld ha e easil been lif ed from a

legitimate speech, and the differentiation between parody and reality begins to blur. The series continues with Wilson as Bill Clinton (fig.11). Working in a mode of double reality, Wilson poses as Bill himself addressing he q es ion

ha if Bill ere a oman?

Would she have gotten away with an affair? Would the United States have bombed Iraq? How would the world look today? How would Wilson be treated as a woman in power? Could women age the way a man can in the public eye? The title Name-Fate alludes to the privileged identity of being not only a man, but one with a prominent career. Wilson was not recognized for her art until the 1990s at the very earliest; documented by Lucy Lippard and few others, Wilson went undetected for her personal work, only praised for her work on Franklin Furnace. By placing herself next to the president, posing with a slight forward lean and soft, powerful grin, she ass mes Clin on s place of po er and in

rn akes back accolades she as denied in her o h

Mar ha Wilson, Mar ha Wilson as Barbara B sh, Ups ream Ar s, S a en Island C.T.V., 11 March 1991.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

due to gender circumstances and her existence on the outskirts of the Gloria Steinem branded version of feminism. Wilson s genderbending and ransforma ion in o o hers hin s a he orks of Cla de Cahun. Existing as one of the first openly genderqueer artists, they focused on self-portraiture or a opor rai s from he 1930s n il heir dea h in 1954.14 They pose as men and women, hyperfeminized stereotypes as well as suited men in both an exploration of themselves and a masking of themselves. As much as Cahun shows, they conceal. A quote from Cahun connects their work i h ha of Wilson s: hese faces.

nder his mask, ano her mask. I ill ne er be finished remo ing all

In posing as politicians and gender stereotypes, Wilson shows herself but deflects;

she too is operating in a fashion of removing faces day after day. In another mode of showing oneself before deflecting, Wilson founded and runs Franklin Furnace Archive. Acting as a mirror to herself, the archive was created to be a protectant of the Avant-Garde but is closely related to her own performance practice. In its origins, the Franklin Furnace provided space for artists to express their work through democratized books, shows, and performances. Now existing as a digital archive, MOMA has acquired their collection of artist books. Fo nded as a space o champion ephemeral forms neglec ed b mains ream ins i

ions,

a focus of the organization became offering a more truthful space for artists to act; when democratization and performance are high ideals, the pressures of creating work for a capitalist society tend to fall by the wayside. 16 Where there is no purchasing, artists create work that perhaps reflec s heir o n personal r h more han ork crea ed o be sold a Chris ie s.

Christy Wampole, "The Impudence of Claude Cahun," L'Esprit Créateur 53, no. 1 (2013), 101-113.

Ibid.

Michael Ka chen, Franklin F rnace Timeline, Franklin F rnace, http://franklinfurnace.org/research/organizational_timeline/timeline.php. 16

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country In Wilson s performance of Tipper Gore (fig. 12), She ses he oppor ni National Endowment of he Ar s for c

11 o call o

ing Franklin F rnace s f nding for sho ing

pornography.17 Tipper s role in his piece is o emphasi e he impor ance of famil

al es in ar ,

something Wilson was against. Someone who fought for artistic freedom, Wilson utilizes the form of the pure first lady- who advocated for the explicit label to be placed on records- to make a tongue-in-cheek commentary on censorship that plagued her art throughout her career. The accompan ing speech for his performance s a es, So ha is he es for famil simple. If I o ld allo m famil

o cons me a ork of ar , i mee s he es . If

al es? I s he crea i e

community would just let me label EVERY work of art that receives federal funding, it would sell like ho cakes. Connec ing o her f ndamental reasons for founding Franklin Furnace, the performance of Ms. Gore emphasizes a need for art without the pressures of capitalism. For Wilson and other artists, censorship denoted a lack of truth. Everything that Wilson touches, whether it be concepts of the oval office or gender roles, relates back to truth. By working in performance, she takes abstract concepts that seem to be generally accepted in the United States society and plays them out in drag. Only through these performances and personal experiences do these understood quandaries become said aloud and are seen as being ridiculous rather than status quo. Her works are described as disposable, in that a performance or pos card as no crea ed o be he ehicle for ar is s

is al or erbal ideas.

and organizations above profit and notability.

Ibid.

Wilson, Sourcebook, 50.

al able b

he ir e of heir ma erials, but as

Ideas and social change forefron Wilson s ork

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

Describing her role as one here she is o s and sligh l o side of socie , o occ p a critical role, o perpe all d ell in [W.E.B. D Bois ] do ble conscio sness, Mar ha Wilson s work continually brings the underneath of problems to the surface, using self-transformation to make he conf sing angible. Figh ing for j s ice and change, Wilson s performances challenge the morals of the United States, asking for a better system. She questions the role of the first-lady and the housewife in a single breath, asking the American public to see women outside their existence in relation to men. As Claude Cah n pla ed o

gender o pro e heir s as a alid one,

Wilson uses gender transformation to mark severe gender inequality despite legislation. Through these performances, Wilson shows the truth of what is perceived as American freedom and pursues a new version of freedom outside the confides of gender role, age, and income. The ignored becomes the subject, and reality is seen for the strangeness that it is.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

Bibliography Earnest, Jarret. Firs Lad of Performance Ar . Brooklyn Rail. 2014. Lippard, Lucy. G erilla Girls, in The Pink Glass Swan, edited by Lucy Lippard, 254-257. New York: The New Press, 1995. Lippard, Lucy. Making Up: Role-Pla ing and Transforma ion in Women s Ar . in The Pink Glass Swan, edited by Lucy Lippard, 89-98. New York: The New Press, 1995. Lippard, Lucy. Mo ing Targe s / Concen ric Circles: No es from he Radical Whirl ind. in The Pink Glass Swan, edited by Lucy Lippard, 3-28. New York: The New Press, 1995. Jones, Amelia G. The Ambi alence of Male Masq erade: D champ as Rrose S la . in The Body Imaged, edited by Kathleen Adler and Marcia Pointon, 2-31. Cambridge, New York, and Oakleigh: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Katchen, Michael. Franklin F rnace Timeline. Franklin Furnace. Makholm, Kristin "Strange Beauty: Hannah Höch and the Photomontage." MoMA, no. 24, (1997), 19-23. Marcel Duchamp exh. cat. Ottowa: The National Gallery of Canada, 1997. M l e , La ra. Vis al Pleas re and Narra i e Cinema. Screen, Volume 16, Issue 3 (Autumn 1975), 6 18. PPOW Gallery. Mar ha Wilson. PPOW Gallery. 28 April 2020. Simmons, William. In er ie s: Mar ha Wilson. Art Forum. 16 February 2015. Wampole, Christy. "The Impudence of Claude Cahun." L'Esprit Créateur 53, no. 1 (2013): 101113. Wark, Jayne. Radical Gestures: Feminism and Performance Art in North America. Quebec: McGill-Q een s Uni ersi Press, 2006. Wilson, Martha. Mar ha Wilson as Barbara B sh. Ups ream Ar s, S a en Island C.T.V. 11 March 1991. Wilson, Martha. Sourcebook. New York: Independent Curators International, 2011.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country Figures

Figure 1. Hannah Höch, Cut with a Kitchen Knife, 1919.

Figure 2. Claude Cahun, Self Portrait with Cat, 1927.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

Figure 3. Martha Wilson, Captivating a Man, 1972.

Figure 4. Man Ray, Rrose Sélavy (Marcel Duchamp), 1920.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

Figure 5. Martha Wilson, The Goddess, 1974.

Figure 6. Martha Wilson, The Housewife, 1974.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

Figure 7. Martha Wilson, The Earth-Mother, 1974.

Figure 8. Martha Wilson and Sue Daiken, Nancy Reagan in Malibu, 1984.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

Figure 9. Martha Wilson, Martha Wilson as Nancy Reagan for Oracle, 1985.

Figure 10. Martha Wilson and Dennis Ho, Barbara Bush Portrait, 2005.

Martha Wilson: Transformation of Self and Transformation of Country

Figure 11. Martha Wilson, Name-Fate, 2009.

Figure 12. Martha Wilson, Tipper Gore s Ad ice for he 90 s, 1993.

Eikoh Hosoe Shina Peng Graduating: Fall 2020 May 5th, 2019 Professor Shelley Rice Surrealism

Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 3 Eikoh Hosoe .................................................................................................................................... 3 Post-war Japan .......................................................................................................................................... 4

Ordeal of Roses ............................................................................................................................... 8 Mishima Yukio ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Homosexuality ........................................................................................................................................ 10 History of homosexuality in Japan ..................................................................................................................... 10 Homosexuality in Ordeal of Roses ..................................................................................................................... 12

Tensions in Ideology ............................................................................................................................... 14 Death ....................................................................................................................................................... 16

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 18 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 20

Introduction Surrealism has no real definition. It is a movement in art that explains the unexplainable, questions the reality we live in, and makes sense of nonsense. At any given time of life, people experience moments that make us question the world we live in. The causes for these unanswerable questions range from personal experiences, sociopolitical views, to government laws. In times of chaos, people can turn to the surrealists to see that it is not a singular experience. People are not alone in this chaos, but together, are experiencing the nonsense in hopes to understand it. To explore this chaos and nonsense further, this paper will focus on Japan after World War II. Once Japan fell to the Allied powers, they were immediately placed in America’s hand to westernize. This sudden shift from an extremely nationalist country to one that obeys another caused a lot of sociopolitical turmoil throughout the nation. It was during this time that one of the most influential surrealist photographers, Eikoh Hosoe, created his work. The confusion in Japanese society that rose from the immediate change fuels Hosoe’s work. Eikoh Hosoe intentionally rejects the conventions in both art and the sociopolitical atmosphere in post-war Japan through his deliberate focus on sexually charged content and the macabre concepts in this series, Barakei (Ordeal of Roses).

Eikoh Hosoe

Toshihiro Hosoe was born on March 18th, 1933 in Yamagata Prefecture.1 In 1947 Hosoe

changed his name from Toshihiro to Eikoh. His cousin had insisted for the change as a marker for the new era of Japan.2 It was also Hosoe’s fascination with postwar reality in which he came 1 2

(Taka Ishii Gallery, 2020) (Fujifilm, 2020)

of age and recognition to the new world he intended to capture with his camera that ultimately persuaded him to change his name.3 In 1952, Hosoe enrolled into the Tokyo College of Photography. There, he befriends EiQ, a famous photographer working in Japan. Ei-Q was the leader of the Democratic Artists Association, which made him well connected with contemporary creatives and editors. Through their friendship, Ei-Q introduced Hosoe to several artists, which helped Hosoe receive the exposure necessary to become a recognized photographer in Japan.4 After Hosoe’s graduation, he continued his photographic endeavors. In 1957, he participated in the Eyes of Ten exhibition which lead him to become one of the founding members of the VIVO photography agency.5 Hosoe’s main form of presenting his photography was through books. Among the publications that he has, the three that garnered most attention are: Man and Woman (1960), Barakei (Ordeal of Roses) (1963), and Kamaitachi (1970).6

Eikoh Hosoe, Man and Woman (1960)

Post-war Japan In order to understand Eikoh Hosoe’s work, one must know the context he was photographing in. Eikoh Hosoe’s work was predominantly recognized in Japan after World War 3

(Michael Hoppen Gallery, 2020) (Taka Ishii Gallery, 2020) 5 (Kaneko , et al., 2003) 6 (Kaneko , et al., 2003) 4

II. It was a time where there was a lot of social turmoil and confusion. On August 15th, 1945, Japan unconditionally surrenders to the Allied powers, declaring their defeat in World War II. They signed the US-Japan Security Treaty that dictated Japan grant US territorial means to establish military presence, to prohibit Japan from providing foreign powers with military-rights without US consent, and to disband their military.7 This began the American occupation in Japan. America’s focus, other than demilitarization of Japan, was the democratization and to rebuild its economy. Japan saw their economy prosper under the American occupation. However, despite this success, people were torn between the traditional ideals of Japan and the new ideologies brought during the occupation. In 1952, with the exception of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan’s sovereignty was fully restored.8 On June 23, 1960, revisions were made to the treaty, claiming that the United States would help defend Japan if it came under attack and that Japan would provide bases and ports for American forces in Japan.9 There were many protests against the new revisions to the US-Japan Security Treaty but there is little information in textbooks, especially on the anti-protest movements led by the students. The main concern for these protests was that with the revision, it would mean Japan could be pulled into another war to help America. By the 1970s, these protests received little sympathy from the public. Attention was moved away from the protests against the government to daily life. This drastic shift in media from the results of the war and the American occupation to everyday life caused confusion and turmoil for the people of Japan.10 The historical significance of this time was the confusion that rose between the people. 30 years ago, they were loyal to a nationalistic party aiming to dominant the world and be recognized as a superpower. Immediately after their loss, they were occupied by a foreign 7

(Kaneko , et al., 2003) (Wikipedia, 2020) 9 (Hirano, 2010) 10 (Kaneko , et al., 2003) 8

power and told what to do. And in 1970, the government power was no longer the focus of the public eye. People were meant to find their own identity, and what they felt Japan was meant to be.

Domon Ken

Photography in Japan also saw many changes in this time. “It seems possible that the ferment in Japanese photography during the past two decades has been caused by three factors: the patent bankruptcy of the prewar tradition of photographic pictorialism, the national fascination with photography as a technique, and the stunning speed with which the character of Japanese life itself transformed.”11 During the post war period, the dominant form of photography was Realism. This started in 1952, around the same time as the US-Japan Security Treaty. Photographers began exploring documentary styles that examined and indicted social contradictions through photography and demonstrated a strong consciousness of social and political issues.12 The photographers also believed it was their responsibility to document the post war reality so that the same atrocities would never occur again. Their main goal was to objectively document reality. The main photographer at the time was Domon Ken.

11 12

(Szarkowski & Yamagishi, 1974) (Kaneko , et al., 2003)

However, questions rose in the photography community of whether objective documentation was possible, and whether photorealism was the only way photography should be considered as art. Hosoe himself has said “Though I respect Domon Ken, I don’t want to take photos like him and he wouldn’t want to take photos like me.”13 Likewise to Hosoe’s response to realism, the movement that rose against it was the VIVO agency. VIVO consisted of six influential photographers in Japan: Narahara Ikko, Tomatsu Shomei, Hosoe Eikoh, Kawada Kikuji, Sato Akira, and Tanno Akira.14 They showed three exhibitions under Eyes of Ten together and ultimately founded VIVO in July of 1959. Their main purpose was to create a collective of young photographers that aimed to sever ties with the established form of photography and aimed to create a new type of photography. They wanted to capture the idiosyncratic and free experimental techniques of the ego, so that both new humanity and new form can be discovered.15 These people aimed to redefine photography so that it was not just limited to documentary photography. Hosoe himself states, “The camera is generally assumed to be unable to depict that which is not visible to the eye and yet, the photographer who wields it well can depict what lies in unseen memory.”16 VIVO built a creative office and darkroom for photographers and also attempted to act as their own agency. In June of 1961, the agency ended. Though it was short-lived it made a significant impact on the Japanese photography community. Photography was no longer just concentrating on the objective documentation of reality but began to accept the abstract, subjective representations of the world through the photographer’s eyes. In addition to the acceptance of a different perspective, different themes were also explored in photography. It was no longer just of daily life, but also included subject matter that 13

( , 2016) (Kaneko , et al., 2003) 15 (Kaneko , et al., 2003) 16 (Artnet, 2020) 14

commented on the sociopolitical issues in Japan. One of the more integral parts to Hosoe’s work, Barakei, is sexuality and the tension between traditional Japan and new Western ideologies. The traditional Japan is not in reference to the nationalism and militarism that resulted in the war, but rather the patriotism, martial spirit, and loyalty to the emperor that existed before.

Ordeal of Roses Eikoh Hosoe’s most significant publication in his career was Barakei or Ordeal of Roses in English. This photographic book was originally published under the English title Killed by Roses in 1963 and was renamed in 1970.17 These photographs were a “subjective documentary” of a writer, Mishima Yukio.18 Through Mishima’s body and possessions, Hosoe explored homosexuality, tensions between West and Japanese ideologies, and death.

Mishima Yukio Mishima Yukio, pseudonym for Hiraoka Kimitake, was regarded as one of the most important Japanese novelists in the 20th century. He was the son of a high civil servant and grew up in an incredibly nationalistic household. During World War II, Mishima failed to qualify physically for military service and was put to work at a factory in Tokyo instead. After the war, he studied law at the University of Tokyo. While he worked in the banking division of the Japanese Ministry of Finance in 1949, he wrote his first novel, Kamen no kokuhaku (Confessions of a Mask). This partly autobiographical work described a homosexual man who had to mask his sexuality form the society around him. The success in this novel pushed Mishima to devote his full energy to writing. Mishima’s novels centered around main characters who are tormented by various physical, psychological problems, and those who were tormented by unattainable ideals 17 18

(ASX, 2010) (The Guardian, 2016)

that made daily happiness impossible for them. His obsession with blood, death, suicide, and self-destructive behavior was highlighted through his short film, Yukoku (Patriotism) (1966). The story follows a young army officer who commits ritual suicide, seppuku, with obvious admiration and loyalty to the Japanese emperor. This short story outlined Mishima’s political ideology, where he was attracted to the patriotism and martial spirit of Japan’s past and unfavorable to the materialistic Western ideology. Despite maintaining a Western lifestyle in his personal life, his personal ideologies raged against Japan’s imitation of the West. Mishima founded a private army of 80 students called Tate no Kai (Shield Society) with the aims to preserve the Japanese martial spirit and to help protect the emperor in case of an uprising by the left or a communist attack. By the time he built his army, Japan no longer felt the intense loyalty to the emperor compared to the 1930s. On November 25th, 1970, Mishima and four Shield Society followers seized control of the commanding general’s office at a military headquarters near downtown Tokyo. He gave a ten minute speech to 1000 assembled army men, pushing for them to overthrow Japan’s treaty with America but the soldiers were unsympathetic. He then committed ritual suicide, cutting across his abdomen with his sword and decapitated by the hands of a follower.19 Mishima stumbled upon Hosoe’s work in 1961 through a mutual friend, the founder of butoh dance, Hijikata Tatsumi.20 The dancer was Hosoe’s oldest friend and admired Mishima greatly. His first major butoh performance was based on Mishima’s novel, Kinjiki (Forbidden Colors). The photographs of Hijikata’s naked body in Man and Woman (1960) inspired Mishima to reach out to Hosoe and ask him to take his portraits for his upcoming collection of short essays. Hosoe, who was 20-soemthing at the time jumped at this opportunity and went to Mishima’s 19 20

(The Editors of Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 2020) (ASX, 2010)

house with his then assistant, Daido Moriyama. Upon, arrival, he saw Mishima shirtless and sunbathing. Mishima was about to put clothes on which Hosoe stops immediately They begin to photograph and Hosoe sees Mishima’s father with a garden hose outside. He tells Mishima to wrap himself with this hose and creates one of the iconic images from the series, Barakei.

In an interview with Hosoe, he recalls telling Moriyama that he pushed Mishima too far with these photographs. But after he sends the final images, he receives a call from Mishima Ordeal of Roses #06

elated by the images. Later, Mishima asks Hosoe why he wrapped him in the garden hose. In which Hosoe replies, to break the icon that is Mishima Yukio.21 This began Hosoe and Mishima’s collaborative relationship over ten photographic sessions between 1961 until 1962.22

Homosexuality History of homosexuality in Japan

One of the main themes explored in this series is homosexuality. Because this series is a

subjective documentary of Mishima, Hosoe needed to include Mishima’s homosexuality. The incorporation of this also alludes to Mishima’s incredibly successful novel, Confessions of a Mask. The depiction of homosexuality in Japan in the 1960s wasn’t common, and rather a topic that was not discusses in public. Japan’s history with homosexuality dates back to the 11th 21 22

( (ASX, 2010)

, 2016)

century, during the Heian period. It was the combination of modernization and westernization that shifted the perspective of male sexual relationships in Japan.23 During the Heian period, it was common for monks and samurai to engage in homosexual relationships. Typically, these relationships were age-structured and the younger partner was not considered an adult. There would be the nenja, typically older and at a higher ranking who would be paired with a chigo, typically a prepubescent boy. Once the boy reached adulthood, this relationship would end. Even now, there are traditional Japanese paintings that are religious that refer to this relationship. In the samurai class it was customary for an adolescent boy to undergo training in the martial arts by apprenticing a more experienced adult man. If the boy agreed, the man could take the boy as his lover until he came of age. It was a “brotherhood contract” and expected to be exclusive. They swore to honor the samurai code and were expected to be loyal unto death. Sex was expected to end when the boy came of age, and these men were allowed to also have sex with women. This developed into the system of agestructured homosexuality known as wakashudo, which translates to the way of the wakashu (adolescent boy).24 Only preadult boys were considered legitimate targets of homosexual desires, which does mean that even if sex was accepted, gay marriage and adult gay sex wasn’t. This continued through 18th century Japan, which was the Edo Period. It was in the 19th century that restrictions towards homosexual acts began to grow. During the Meiji Restoration, animosity grew and the law followed. Sodomy was criminalized, criticizing nanshoku (liking men) which was associated with the samurai code and masculinity. There was also increasing concerns about young men being raped. While Japan was moving to be Westernized, homosexual relationships were rejected, and were seen as an outdated custom 23 24

(Lunsing, 2001) (Wikipedia, 2020)

that had no place in Japanese society. There were chigo battles and bishonen-hunting gangs, where gangs of young men would search for a young victim to rape. They would assault other students to incorporate into their groups, leading to anti-sodomy campaigns throughout the country.25 In addition, a new form of pseudo-science called Sexology was brought to Japan by Meiji scholars who were seeking a more Western Japan. This belief suggested that a homosexual would adopt feminine characteristics and assume the psychic persona of a woman.26 This combination of a shift in governmental regime and Westernization lead to shun homosexuality in Japan. The lack of acceptance for these people can be seen through Mishima’s novel, and the main character’s pressure to hide his sexuality from society. Homosexuality in Ordeal of Roses Homosexuality is one of the main themes explored through Hosoe Eikoh’s photographic book, Ordeal of Roses.

In this photograph, for example, Mishima embraces a nude male body. This image is a collage of several objects and people. On the left side we see what seems like 6 eggs. Eggs could mean fertility, womanhood, birth, life. Hosoe juxtaposes the idea of birth against love between men, where children cannot be conceived. Along with the eggs and the embracing men, there is 25 26

(Lunsing, 2001) (Wikipedia, 2020)

Mishima in deep thought, and legs separated from the body. The contrast between the legs and the two embracing men is that the men have cloths wrapped around their genitalia. The cloth could symbolize the lack of acceptance in Japanese society for these men to truly be together.

In another photograph, Mishima lays in a bed of roses while a nude man wraps himself around him. Possibly referencing fellatio as the man’s head is where Mishima’s genitalia is. 11 years after Barakei was published, the first commercially circulated monthly gay magazine called Barazoku (The Rose Tribe) was published.27 Both using roses in their title may have been a coincidence but the significance of the rose with the gay community in Japan is undeniable. It is hard to clearly state whether Hosoe intended to make a political statement. His lack of hesitation to photograph Mishima in this way suggests that he doesn’t question who Mishima is. There is no shame or lack of attention to homosexuality through his series, meaning he accepts Mishima for who he is. In addition, as a subjective documentary, it would be integral for him to include Mishima’s sexuality and the tensions that arise with Japanese society. Hosoe’s unquestionable acceptance towards Mishima’s sexuality defies the social expectations of Postwar japan. He shows two male bodies to the viewer, without distortion and with nothing to hide behind. By choosing to fully show the embracing bodies, Hosoe accepts Mishima’s sexuality and rejects the perception of homosexuality in Japan. 27

(Wikipedia, 2020)

Tensions in Ideology Throughout Ordeal of Roses, viewers can see repeated references to Renaissance paintings. Despite Mishima being someone who was devoted to the martial spirit of Japan and criticizing Western materialism, his possessions were predominantly Western. This tension between Mishima’s belief and lifestyle sheds light on the confusion the Japanese experienced post World War II.

In this photograph, Mishima

reclines in his garden surrounded

by a Western rose garden, a

stone bench with Mesopotamian

influence, a fallen Greek bust, and the legs of a Renaissance reclining nude. Unlike the nude who lies comfortably on her silk bedding, Mishima lies uncomfortably on the stone bench. His pose is identical yet there is tension with the discomfort that can be assumed from reclining on a marble bench. In addition, putting Mishima in a feminine pose could be criticizing Japan’s delusion that being gay meant men would become feminine. It could also represent Mishima’s fascination with Western art. By putting white tights on Mishima, his legs parallel that of the reclining nude and the white marble of the Greek bust. One can say that the tights are making Mishima himself a statue, an icon that will remain in history forever. This is further emphasized through the fallen bust on the ground that has no legs. The overgrown shrubbery and the lifeless stone legs also suggests an aspect of death. While the roses begin to grow, the art will remain still. If Mishima is

also morphing into art, he will no longer be able to move as a statue, slowly becoming a part of the garden himself.

In another photograph from the series, Botticelli’s Venus superimposed on Mishima’s eye. This overlay suggests that Mishima himself is looking at the painting, or the painting is a constant influence in Mishima’s mind. The intensity at which the eye stares into this painting seems obsessive. As though the eye wants to burn the painting into Mishima’s brain. Mishima once showed Hosoe black and white photographs of Raphael and Botticelli pieces. Hosoe believed that “a person’s soul lives in any of his possessions, particularly in art objects, which live together with the artist’s soul. Therefore, I compounded the Renaissance paintings Mishima loved the most onto his body.”28 Although the quote suggests that the decisions for this photograph was simply for Mishima’s love for the painting, it also suggests Mishima’s deep fascination towards Western art. This is also referenced in his first novel Confessions of the Mask. In this story, the main character pleasures himself while looking at Western sculptures. There is a lot of tension that results in Mishima’s fascination towards Western art that Hosoe clearly captures. As stated earlier, Mishima had internal conflicts with accepting the way of Western life. He clearly had a passion for the art but hated the imitation of the West that he 28

(The Guardian, 2016)

saw in Japan. He felt that the Western way of life was materialistic and valued the traditions in Japan prior to it. Despite that, the images that we see was mostly shot in Mishima’s house which is well furnished, beautifully decorated with art, and only achievable with a great sum of money. If he valued Japanese values so much, and despised the materialism, it raises questions as to why Mishima would live in the house surrounded by Western possessions. This internal conflict is expressed through the series only if viewers know how Mishima died. His dedication to the traditional ways of Japan, so much so that he performed ritual suicide, clearly contradicts the obsessive fascination towards the West. Whether this represents the entirety of Japan is hard to say, but it does capture the confusion the Japanese experienced from the sudden transitions in government after World War II.

Death The Japanese title for this series, Barakei directly translates to punished by roses. In the original English publication in 1963, the title was Killed by Roses. The idea of punishment and death is heavily explored through the series, just like the many fictional writings of Mishima. Hosoe uses Mishima’s body to represent these ideas. It is important to note that photographing death was common in Realism as well, but Mishima’s representation of death was a metaphor rather than objective documentation of the devastation from the war.

In this photograph, Mishima lies on the same stone bench in his garden with a rose laying across his neck a leaf on his abdomen. His head lulls lifelessly to the side as he clutches his stomach. With his lower body engulfed into the darkness, the viewer’s attention goes to the white rose. Before Msihima’s death, this photograph directly related to the title. The rose could allude to life itself. Just as the rose itself has thorns, despite its beauty it has pain. There will be sacrifices and punishments in pursuit of a beautiful life. However, there is a significant change in the interpretation of this photograph after knowing Mishima’s death. Mishima’s act of ritual suicide meant he cut through his abdomen and was decapitated. The location of the leaf on his stomach and his hands wrapping around is exactly where Mishima cut himself with his sword. The rose that jarringly cuts across his body parallels that of his decapitation by the hands of his followers. Before his suicide, the photograph may have read as a symbol of life and death, but after, it visualizes the pain he endured despite having a life that seemed perfect from the outside.

Mishima holds a hammer against his head as he stands above the zodiac tiling in his garden. The hose is wrapped around his body again, but this time coming out of his mouth. This photograph references the self-destructive behavior Mishima explores in many of his fictional writings. Though it is not blatantly about death, it suggests that Mishima has the power to take his life whenever he feels necessary. The wooden hammer against his head as he gazes towards the viewer seems like a threat to bash his skull in. The hose coming out of his mouth also strangles his neck while he holds it tightly with his hands. Almost as if he were to let go, the hose would choke him. It could be interpreted as internal problems that cause his suffering.

Conclusion

Hosoe Eikoh’s subjective documentary of Mishima Yukio in Ordeal of Roses is a

macabre photographic series that explores sexuality, tensions in the West and Japan, and death. His lack of hesitation to photograph homoerotic portraits defy the social norms in Japan that did not accept gay relationships. In addition, his exploration of Mishima’s internal tension towards staying faithful to traditional Japan can be extended to the social turmoil citizens of Japan felt. Lastly, Hosoe goes against the norm of photography through metaphorical representations of the same topic seen in Realism, death. Rather than photograph it like a documentarian, Hosoe used his subject body to show internal struggle and the significance of life and death. In 1963 Barakei was published after ten photographic sessions over a year. In 1969, Hosoe Eikoh asked Mishima if he would like to republish the book. It was at this time that Mishima asked Hosoe to rename the series to Ordeal of Roses, as he believed it was a closer translation from the Japanese title. About a year later, Mishima committed suicide. Mishima’s adamant decision to change the title can be seen more than just because of translation issues. It

may also represent his defiance against letting himself be killed by the rose that represents life. Life did not kill Mishima, he chose to do that himself.

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