The Pet Show #15 深瀬昌久 Masahisa Fukase

深濑昌久

生于1934年，日本

深濑昌久被认为是日本最激进、最具实验性的摄影家之一。于1977年收养的小猫并取名为“佐助”，他决定自己也“变身”为猫，用猫的视角跟拍佐助1年。集合跟拍了1年的佐助的照片。就像他最著名的系列《乌鸦》一样，深濑的摄影作品以艺术家的自我投射为主题。

深濑身边总是有猫。也曾在1973年受杂志委托的连载系列《12个月的猫》担当摄影师，每月拍摄一位小说家或画家的猫。据说在有限的拍摄时间内，不停地追逐一只躲来闪去的小猫，着实让深濑吃了一番苦头。于是，他做出一个决定，“我打算将自己也变成猫，作为共同生活者，记录一只小猫从小到大的成长过程”。

“为了和猫咪平视，一年多来，我几乎都趴着拍摄，总感觉自己好像也变成了猫。在自然的移动中随心所欲地与自己心爱的对象一边玩耍一边记录，对我而言，这就是最幸福的拍摄了。我不是一只容貌美丽又可爱的猫，所以我想拍出猫的眼睛里我自己可爱的一面。因此，这部摄影集可以说是我借佐助和百惠的外形所拍摄的我的‘自画像’。”

佐助，1978-1979年 © 深濑昌久

Masahisa Fukase

B. 1934, Japan

Masahisa Fukase is considered one of the most radical and experimental photographers in Japan. In 1977, he adopted a kitten, Sasuke, and decided to photo- graph it for a year, putting himself at the cat's eye level. As with his most famous series Raven, Fukase’s photography features self-projection of the artist into the subject.

Cats were a constant feature in Fukase’s life. In 1973, he was commissioned by a magazine to serialize a photo series called 12 Months of Cats, capturing the cats of novelists or painters each month. It is said that within the limited time for each shoot, he tirelessly chased after the elusive cats, which proved to be quite challenging for Fukase. So, he made a decision: “I intend to turn myself into a cat, as a companion in life, documenting the growth process of a kitten.”

“That year, I spent much of my time crawling around on my stomach in order to take photographs at the cat’s eye level, and this sort of made me into a cat. It was the happiest of tasks: taking photos, while playing with something who pleased me, in harmony with the changing seasons.”, “I didn’t want to photo- graph the most beautiful cats in the world, but rather to capture their charm with my lens while being reflected in their pupils. One might accurately say that this collection is really a ‘self-portrait’ for which I adopted the form of Sasuke and Momoe.”