HOSOE’S HUMAN BODY, INSCRIBED BY HIM

HOSOE, Eikoh. Human Body. Tokyo: Nippon Geijutsu Shuppansha, 1982. Tall square quarto, original black flocked cloth, original dust jacket, original slipcase, original shipping carton. $2800.

First edition of this collection of Hosoe’s works on the human form, with 94 full-page duotone photogravures, inscribed by him in Japanese on the title page.

“Hosoe had a particular talent for making exciting books” (Parr & Badger, 5). His ongoing explorations of male and female bodies have resulted in a number of exquisite photobooks, among them this handsome compilation. Here Hosoe has drawn together his earlier photo-essays, Man and Woman, Embrace and Killed by Roses, and added his series from Arizona and Yosemite, from which he has created “a dialogue between men and women and extracted the essence of life by cleverly abstracting the flesh. The images are erotic, but not affectionate and show physical angst, the struggle of the genders. Hosoe’s camera never captures the bodies from a dominant angle, therefore, the series of works in this exhibition are not merely expressing the bodies of the opposite sex, but are depicting the discovery of the equal and diverse relationships, such as the dialogue” (Galleria Carla Sozzani). Text in Japanese. In original shipping carton, with publisher’s advertisements laid in.

Scattered light spots of foxing on edges and title page. Carton slightly soiled. A fine copy, inscribed.