2 Photographers, 2 Philosophies

The photo series Longing by Prabuddha Dasgupta (1956-2012) is, in his own words, an “ongoing personal journal of memory and experience, based on everyday experiences…at the center of which stands a vital love story that became the pivot of my life six years ago.”To those familiar with the photographer Nobuyoshi Araki (1940-), Longing has so much in common with Araki’s Diary Sentimental Journey [sic] that Dasgupta must have been inspired by Araki in this work. Like Longing, Araki’s work is a record of his time with his beloved wife, tenderly documenting moments of intimacy from the sexual to the quotidian. It is fascinating to contrast Araki’s execution with Dasgupta’s, revealing two very different views of the world.In past interviews, Araki has talked about how, for him, photography is subjective and not objective.{{1}} His photographs reveal his soul. Often, the viewer can catch a glimpse of Araki himself, moving in and out of the frame, blurring the distinction between the subject and photographer. The viewer similarly glimpses Dasgupta in the frame in some of the photos in Longing, thereby making the photos no less revealing of the woman’s soul than the photographer’s.Longing, like Sentimental Journey, also conveys the sense of a journey or of a man looking over the past. The two works differ in that Sentimental Journey portrays a man looking at how far he has come, whereas in Longing one gets the sense that the journey is ongoing, i.e. past assignations invite hope of future trysts.Despite the tragic ending to Araki’s work (his wife passes away in the end), there is more humor and joy in Sentimental Journey overall. For Araki, the cat, a leitmotif in both series, conveys a sense of domesticity and playfulness. For Dasgupta, the cat is an omen of thwarted desires (perhaps even of the photographer’s own untimely demise).One gets the sense that Araki doesn’t take the lived experience very seriously. Pain, happiness, passion, diffidence—they are all different aspects of the same thing. Tellingly, Araki presents his work to us in a modest little book. Dasgupta’s vision sits heavier. This is a Grand Passion for a Great Beauty of our time (the woman of Longing is a top model). His photos demand to be blown up. For Dasgupta, the lived experience is monumental.Whose philosophy of life do you prefer?[[1]]"Crossing Boundaries: An Interview with Nobuyoshi Araki" in Trans Asia Photography Review, 2011.[[1]]