アートブックFAUSTUSに関するコメント・評論・掲載記事など。一般読者からの感想も新たに加えました。
Reviews / Commentary /Press on Misako Oba’s artbook [FAUSTUS]. Updating reviews from readers 2022
>> 日本語 Japanese
“The content of the FAUSTUS was truly phenomenal. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such pure expression, and it touched my heart.
Artists would think of using blood in their work at some point. But if the blood comes from a person’s own cutting, impurities such as his/her subjectivity and greed inevitably are present.
However, this is not the case with her work, which contains nothing of the sort. The blood, as clear as water, expresses her strong determination and gently enters our hearts in a raw way. I felt the red was really beautiful. The white gauze looks like a cocoon.
I greatly commend her for the courage to genuinely express this painful experience and to capture the hope that came from her loss in a book. When I encountered this book, I felt that true art is not a made up expression, but the life of the artist him/herself.”
Soichiro Kanai
Contemporary Artist (Former Professional Tennis Player)
“If you hear about a book showing photographs of artwork painted with fresh human blood, you might dismiss it as distasteful, gruesome or macabre. But none of these preconceptions applies to Misako Oba’s Faustus. The unique work tells in carefully chosen words and shows in the artist’s own sensibly curated photographs the story of her incredible physical and emotional journey. Oba beautifully turned into art the painful experience and vivid reds from the spontaneous bleeding of her right pinkie, and bravely turned into hope the despair of its amputation.
To me, Faustus teaches a profound lesson in humility, faith, optimism, and even gratitude in the face of adversity. I love it so much that, after securing my own copy, I gave another to one of my sisters as a birthday gift to share with her the book’s inspiring message.”
Martin Dietrich Brauch,
Researcher at Columbia University, New York / Art Collector
New! Added in April 2022
” The photo book “FAUSTUS” has arrived.
The word “sacred scar (Stigmata)” came to mind.
It is very private, but I also felt a sense of universality.
I felt that blood spurting out was something like a prelude to the outpouring of light.
I don’t want to use the words easily, but at the same time, I felt like I wanted to put something into words.
Thank you! I felt love, light and life.”
Readers
Photographer in Japan, Educator in photography
“Faustus recounts Misako’s heart-breaking journey of the amputation of her finger through fine art photography. As an organist and pianist, her story impacted me greatly with the horror of her predicament. I am thankful for her courageous sharing rather than shying away from the world and others, as it enables us to lament and grieve the loss in our own lives as well.”
Roger W. Lowther
Author of “Aroma of Beauty”
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2021-2022 Recent Reviews (読者評価・感想)
>>English
「FAUSTUSの内容は本当に最高だった。ここまで純粋な表現ってないなと思い、心にくるものがあった。
少なからずどこかのタイミングで血を使って描こうと芸術家は思うが、もし自ら切って出た血の場合は、その人の主観や欲という不純物がどうしても入る。しかし彼女の作品はそうではなく、こうしたものは何も入っていない。
水のように透き通った血が彼女の強い決意を表し、生々しくも私たちの心にそっと入っていく。
赤が本当に美しく感じた。 白のガーゼが繭のように見える。
彼女がこの辛い経験を純粋に表現した勇気、そして失ったことで出来た希望を本に収めたことを大きく評価したい。
私はこの本に出会い、本当の芸術とは作られた表現ではなく作家本人の人生であると感じた。」
金井聡一郎
元プロテニスプレーヤー/ 現代アーティスト
「人間の鮮血で描かれた写真作品を掲載した本と聞けば、不愉快さやぞっとするような不気味さを感じて敬遠するかもしれない。しかし、大庭みさこの『ファウストス』には、そのような先入観は一切当てはまらない。このユニークな作品は、信じられないほどの素晴らしい肉体的かつ精神的なジャーニー(旅路)を、彼女自身の感性で選別された写真で表現し、慎重に選ばれた言葉で語っている。
大庭は、右手小指からの自然出血によるつらい経験と鮮やかな赤を見事にアート(芸術)に変え、切断という絶望を勇敢にも希望に変えたのである。私にとって『ファウストス』は、逆境に直面したときの謙虚さ、信仰、楽観主義、さらには感謝の気持ちについて、奥深い教訓を与えてくれる作品である。
私は非常に気に入ったので、自分の分を確保した後、もう一冊を姉の誕生日プレゼントとして贈り、この本の感動的なメッセージを分かち合った。」
マーティン・D・ブラウク
ニューヨーク コロンビア大学 研究者/ アートコレクター
New! 2022年4月追加
「写真集『FAUSTUS』が届きました。
聖痕という言葉が浮かびました。
とてもプライベートなのに普遍性も感じました。
血が噴き出す、というのは何か光の発露の前兆のように感じました。
安易に言葉を使いたくないのですが、同時に何か言葉にしたいと感じました。
ありがとうございます！
愛や光や命を感じました。」
読者（写真家/写真教室講師）
「『ファウストス』は、著者の指の切断手術に対する胸が張り裂けるような ジャーニー （旅路）がアート写真を通して綴られている。オルガン奏者でピアニストでもある私は、彼女が経験した窮地の恐怖とともに、彼女のストーリーに大きな衝撃を受けた。
気後れして世間や人々にふせておくのではなく、勇気を持って分かち合ってくれたことに感謝している。それによって私たちも自分の人生で失ったものに対して、嘆き悲しむことができるから。」
ロジャー・W・ラウザー
『美の香り』著者
*以下に現れることのある広告はこの記事の内容とは関係ありません。
2021-2022 読者評価・感想 (Recent Reviews from Readers)
共同通信の記事 Article by Kyodo News
読書人2015年4月10日号 評:アライ＝ヒロユキ氏（美術・文化社会評論家）/Dokushojin paper, April 10 Issue, 2015- Commentary by art and social/cultural critic Hiroyuki Arai
週刊読書人（Weekly Newspaper）美術・文化社会評論家アライ＝ヒロユキ
Best of June 2015 on Vienna, Austria based Josef Chladek’s Photo Books.
Misako Oba’s [FAUSTUS] was among those photo books.
The authors of those photo books are: Dávila, Kojima, Sanai, Arnold, Scheurwater, Bitesnich, Kitajima, Pedan, Murakami, Georgiou, Oba, Leiter, Koublis, Blanch.
Best of June 2015 on josef chladek photobooks.
For more details of Best of June 2015 and to see the sample pages of those books, you can visit their website.
Best of June
図書新聞2015年3月28日号 文学・芸術欄 / The Book Review Press (Newspaper), March 28, 2015 –Featured in Art & Literature section
図書新聞 (The Book Review Press)
“Since photography appeared in the 19th century, photographers began actively attempting to make self-portraits, which before this period, was mainly the purview of painters. However, I believe that the way photographers make self-portraits is somehow different from the ones that painters make. Painters tend to seek and explore a “unique-self” centripetally, so to speak. On the other hand, artists using photography usually strive to separate and break themselves down at each stage in multi-dimensions at first, and as time goes by, they would accept the transformation
of themselves as the way it is, and record them in photography without idealization.
It can be said that Misako Oba’s photographic series FAUSTUS is also descended from the shared ancestry of the experiment of self-portraits by such artists. […..]
In the wake of the abnormal bleeding from her little finger, she experienced one after another, the stages of ‘fear, sadness, anger, confusion, conflict, despair, and even acceptance, hope, and joy.’
What is unique about her FAUSTUS project is that she continued photographing scrupulously over time the large physical shift, as well as the mental and emotional
fluctuations. In the meantime, she also photographed the drawings made with her own fresh blood, and the notes with trembling characters written by her shaking hand.[…..] by viewing those images that were recorded over the course of the process, I came to feel her physical pain and emotional shakes. This is a shared solidarity with the personal, unique points of others. More or less, it would be quite possible for us to fall into a similar situation in our lives.
By presenting her story in the form of a self-portrait, Oba seems to be attempting to share her experiences, such as agony and hope, as a more openly universal story, instead of making it an isolated personal incident. Her attempt seems to be admirably successful.”
Some quotes from commentary titled
Sharing of Agony and Hope,
by Kotaro Iizawa (Photography critic) on Misako Oba’s [FAUSTUS]
Photo Critic Kotaro Iizawa
>> Japanese 日本語
“After Misako Oba left a successful career as a broadcaster for Japanese television in Japan and New York, following some personal hardships in Japan, she moved to New York and began anew as a photographic artist. Oba’s early work, in the series “El Camino” and “Fireflies,” showed idiosyncratic interpretations in a mysterious and partly abstract manner of such cities as Tokyo, Paris, Brussels, and New York. The work was just gaining critical interest when her progress was interrupted by a new personal tragedy in 2006—the discovery that she had the very rare medical condition A.V.M. (Arterio-Venous Malformation) in the pinkie of her right hand. Heavy spontaneous bleeding and several failed medical procedures lead to the dreaded decision to undergo an amputation in the U.S. without the presence of her family, who were in Japan.
Her project FAUSTUS, dealing with this personal struggle to come to an understanding and acceptance of a rare medical condition that struck her unexpectedly, clearly shows her power of turning these horrific events into a stunning art project of universal application. This work is personal but universal, a drama exploring the most basic of human tales—facing fear and “loss” with courage. Had she not been an artist of exceptional ability and courage, this trauma would have remained known only to herself and circle of close friends and family. Instead it stands as a visible monument to a human spiritual journey, an X-ray of a young woman’s soul. I believe that all of her art reflects, to a degree few artists can match, a clear-eyed appraisal of the conditions of her emotions and her soul. Her work is uniquely passionate and engaging.
The self-portraits work might be compared to Francesca Woodman’s and Cindy Sherman’s quest for an alternate identity. In Oba’s case, one sees the perseverance of a loving spirit, and a validation of the eternal beauty of the female persona. [……]”
Quote from Afterword of [FAUSTUS] by Gary Edwards,
Gary Edwards Gallery
Washington, DC
Gallery Director Gary Edwards
静岡新聞2015年２月6日夕刊 [特集] 文化・芸術欄 / Shizuoka Newspaper, February 6, 2015 -Featured at Culture & Art section
静岡新聞 (Newspaper)
(By Gary Edwards) >> English
「大庭みさこは、日本やニューヨークでテレビ局アナウンサーとしてのキャリアを去った後、私生活でのいくつかの苦難に続いて、その後ニューヨークに移る機会を得、写真作家・アーティストとして新たにスタートを切った。初期の作品シリーズ「El Camino」や「Fireflies」は、東京やパリ、ニューヨーク等の都市を、神秘的かつ抽象味を帯びた独特な解釈で表現し、それらが写真界で重要な関心を集め始めていた2006 年、彼女はまた新たな悲劇̶に直面する。右手小指がAVM（動静脈奇形）という稀な自然出血症状に見舞われた。日本に家族を残したまま、米国での度重なる医療処置と最終的な小指切除手術の決断に迫られる中、大庭の「FAUSTUS」シリーズは、一見私的なものに見えるが、勇気を持って恐怖と「喪失」に向き合い、人間として誰にでも起こりうるもっとも基本的な物語を探求した普遍的なドラマである。（略）彼女が並外れた能力と勇気を持った芸術家でなければ、このトラウマは単に本人や親しい友人・家族の内だけにとどまっていただろう。私は大庭のアート全てが、ある意味、一握りのアーティストだけが持っている、自分の感情や魂の状態を鋭く洞察する力を反映していると信じている。」
大庭みさこ写真集『FAUSTUS』あとがき –
ゲイリー・エドワーズ より一部抜粋
[FAUSTUS] by Misako OBA 