Provoke. Provocative Materials for Thought／Complete Reprint of 3 Volumes

Background informations about this set

'Provoke' was first published in November 1968 as a dojin-shi, a self-published magazine. It was originally conceived by art critic Koji Taki (1928-2011) and photographer Takuma NAKAHIRA (1938-2015), with poet Takahiko Okada (1939-1997) and photographer Yutaka TAKANASHI as dojin members.  The subtitle for the magazine was 'Provocative Materials for Thought', and each issue was composed of photographs, essays and poems. After releasing the 2nd and 3rd issue with Daido MORIYAMA as a subsequent member, the group broke up with their last publication 'First, Abandon the World of Pseudo-Certainty' - an overview edition of the three issues.  'Provoke's grainy, blurry, and out-of-focus photographs were initially ridiculed as are-bure-boke and stirred a great deal of controversy, yet it had created a strong impact inside and outside of the photography world during that time. However, today, 'Provoke' has become an extremely rare book and very few people have seen the original.

Why does 'Provoke' matter today? 'Provoke' has been attracting increasing attention in recent years, in and out of Japan.  In 2016, an extensive photography exhibition entitled 'Provoke: Between Protest and Performance Photography in Japan, 1960-1975' opened first in Austria, then toured to Switzerland, France and the United States. 'Provoke' has challenged existing photographic conventions and posed fundamental questions of visual perception, in the midst of the social and political upheaval during the late sixties.  Now the world is gradually recognizing and re-examining its significance in a multitude of contexts.

Why a reprint of Provoke? Able by purchasing all three volumes of 'Provoke', publisher decided to put these extremely rare and inaccessible issues that are currently only owned by a limited number of connoisseurs in the market again. Striving to stay close to the original publications as much as possible, they made it available to many in a reasonable price, looking forward to seeing how today’s society will respond to the work.

Content

"This three volumes are reprints of one of the most influential photo magazine by some of the famost japanese photographers from the 1960s until today. This 'Provoke Complete Reprint' maintains the original size of the images and includes all original texts by Takahiko Okada.
In addition, the volumes are accompanied by complete English and Chinese translations of the original Japanese texts as a booklet." (publisher's note, © Nitesha, 2018)

Alternatives

Another re-edit, released as 'The Japanese Box: Facsimile Reprint of Six Rare Photographic Publications of the Provoke Era', was a reprint collection of Japanese photobooks published in late 1960s to early 1970s in a custom-designed box, including 'Provoke 1, 2 & 3' as well as 'For A Language To Come' by Takuma NAKAHIRA, 'Sentimental Journey' by Nobuyoshi ARAKI, and 'Farewell Photography' by Daido MORIYAMA. This collection was published in 2001 but didn't include the texts; it's also out of print.

Books about 'Provoke'

About the photographer, Daido MORIYAMA

Photo books by Daido MORIYAMA

About the photographer,Takuma NAKAHIRA

Photo books by Takuma NAKAHIRA

About the photographer, Yutaka TAKANASHI

Photo books by Yutaka TAKANASHI