“Flowers of Evil”

Photography by Eikoh Hosoe

Published by 21st Editions, South Dennis, MA, 2006

Offered here in NEW condition is Eikoh Hosoe's “Flowers of Evil,” published in 2006 by 21st Editions. This is a limited edition of only 60 numbered copies, each including 10 bound prints, plus one free-standing, SIGNED and NUMBERED print. The free-standing platinum print is entitled “Man and Woman No. 24” and measures 5.5 x 9 inches. It comes housed in its own protective folio. Both the book and print are both housed inside a raw silk bound clamshell box, and the clamshell is inside a wooden carrying case. The platinum prints feature Eikoh Hosoe's photographs of nude forms, sometimes embracing, sometimes not. These intriguing figure studies from a master of Japanese photography are accompanied by the writings of Charles Baudelaire, whose publication of “Les Fleurs de Mal” in 1857 shocked the nation of France - which had a ban on some of these poems until 1949 - and redefined the possibilities of poetry.

From the Publisher: “Eikoh Hosoe’s platinum prints of strikingly rendered forms and sensuous embraces resonate with potent emotional power. This selection of classic images by Japan’s most revered photographer are united with the words of 19th century French poet Charles Baudelaire, a major influence on Hosoe. Baudelaire’s poems were said to have sent 'a new shiver' through the art world, which is exactly what Eikoh Hosoe’s photographs did a century later. Presented in a hand crafted binding, Hosoe’s images and Baudelaire’s poems in a new translation by John Wood offer collectors an array of sensual and intellectual experiences.”

This is a LIMITED EDITION book housed inside a clamshell case along with a SIGNED free-standing print. The book itself features 10 bound platinum prints, and is SIGNED by Eikoh Hosoe, publisher John Albihari, and translator John Wood. It measures 17 x 15 inches. The silk bound clamshell measures 18.25 x 15.25 inches and comes in a large wooden carrying case. This rare platinum series title is one of only 60 NUMBERED copies.