### Renowned Avant-Garde Photographer Eikoh Hosoe Dies at 91

Eikoh Hosoe, the trailblazing avant-garde photographer known for his surreal and erotically charged imagery, passed away in Tokyo at the age of 91. Hosoe's work left a profound impact on the world of art, pushing the boundaries of photography in postwar Japan.

Yasufumi Nakamori, the editor of "Eikoh Hosoe: Pioneering Post-1945 Japanese Photography," recognized Hosoe's revolutionary influence on the medium. “He transcended the conventions of photographic practice and transformed our understanding of what it means to be a professional photographer in post-1945 Japan,” Nakamori wrote. Hosoe was instrumental in freeing photography from its insular past, both geographically and intellectually.

Hosoe's unique approach often combined cinematic and painterly elements, creating images that were startling and thought-provoking. His second solo exhibition, "Man and Woman," held in 1960, exemplified this style. The exhibit featured nude human forms composed in ways that resembled abstract sculptural objects. One notable piece from this series, "Man and Woman, No. 20," depicts a muscular male arm cradling a woman's seemingly disembodied head, her eyes wide with a startled expression.

Eikoh Hosoe’s legacy will continue to inspire and provoke, reminding us of the power of photography to explore complex themes like life, death, and the existential fears of the nuclear age.