THE BANQUET by Nobuyoshi Araki

Published by Errata Editions / Books on Books #15, New York City, 2012. First edition, so stated. Hardcover in dustjacket, black cloth with white printing, 9.75" x 7.25", 136 unnumbered pages, illustrated with 40 color and 45 duotone photographs by Nobuyoshi Araki. With essays by Araki, Ivan Vartanian, and Jeffrey Ladd. NEAR FINE Condition: tight, bright, clean and unmarked.

When photographer Nobuyoshi Araki's wife, Yoko, was diagnosed with a terminal illness that left her with little time to live, he began to document their meals together, shooting each dish that they shared. The resulting photographs, published in Japan in 1993 as Shokuji, have been reprinted in English as Nobuyoshi Araki: The Banquet. The book contains some of the most powerful food photography we've ever seen. The dishes, shot close up, are messy and graphic, at times more evocative of human bodies-flesh, blood, and hair-than of food. Charged with erotic energy and a sense of loss, the images are vivid, unsettling, and unforgettable.

Nobuyoshi Araki (b. Japan 1940) World renowned Photographer and Contemporary Artist. His sophisticated photography provokes controversy by his conceptual blurring of the line between pornography and fine art forcing viewers to engage emotionally and reflectively with his work, which in itself is quite remarkable. He is one of the most sought after photographers by collectors, curators, and models.