KISHIN SHINOYAMA JUST WASN'T MADE FOR THESE TIMES

As we were trying to calm ourselves in front of Kishin Shinoyama's office before this interview, a taxi pulled over and out stumbled the man himself. The sight of him staggering up the stairs made us remember that he was made of flesh and bones. It's easy to forget that. The soon-to-be 70 year old is one of the super-heavyweights of the Japanese photography world. Not a day goes by without one of his photographs showing up on the cover of magazines, books, and posters everywhere. He shoots anything from antiques to porn stars. In his career many of his books have reached the scale of full-on social phenomena, and have entangled him in cultural problems way bigger than himself.