Celebrity photographer arrested for 'obscene' picture, could face 2 years in Japanese prison

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Published time: February 05, 2013 13:52
Edited time: February 06, 2013 02:54

A woman passes before posters of photo exhibition by Tokyo-based Singaporean photographer Leslie Kee at a gallery in Tokyo on February 4, 2013 (AFP Photo / Yoshikazu Tsuno)

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Fashion, Japan, Photography

Japanese fashionistas have rushed to express their support for the Tokyo-based celebrity photographer Leslie Kee, who boasts clients like Lady Gaga and Beyonce, after he was arrested for selling books containing pictures of male genitalia.

The 41-year-old Singaporean photographer was arrested on suspicion of obscenity after selling the controversial books at his art gallery in Tokyo.

Two employees of the book’s publisher were also arrested. If convicted Kee could face up to two years in prison as well as a fine of up to $27,000.

While pornography is widely available and produced in Japan, according to AFP, under domestic law genitals must be blurred through pixellation.

While Japan’s Penal Code prohibits the distribution, sale and public display of obscene material, the law does not reportedly define what specific type of content is deemed obscene.

According to The Japan Daily Press, the police found out about Kee’s plans to sell the books from an announcement on his Facebook page.

The books in the photographer’s 50-page “Super” series sell for about $65 each. According to police, seven copies have been sold since the exhibition opened at the Hiromi Ishii Roppongi gallery.

Japan’s leading fashion journalist and magazine editor, Yamamuro Kazz, wrote on his website he was “stunned by the news of Leslie Kee's arrest", adding that Kee's work was only available at a particular gallery event, attended by people familiar with the artist’s creative angle.

According to Kazz, "the legal interpretation of whether genitals were exposed or not (and whether the work is obscene or not) is totally irrelevant to the intention of an artist."

Comments (3)

Danaos 06.02.2013 12:38

Mighty (unregistered) wrote in #2
There's a thin line between pornography & art, but who defines that line? Look at old European art pieces, many seem like pornography. Leslie should have gone to California for this.
Yep. Actually many were pure pornography. They were not really meant to be kept in art museums but rather in personal collections in the houses of their owners. They were much later on publickly depicted, usually more than 100 years post their creation - it is always easier socially to show publickly pornography of the old days than a modern one.

Societie s tend to self-regulate in that matters. Artists too have to take into consideration their social environment. Artists of the western and eastern world should rather ask their Middle Eastern counterparts on that! Haha!

Undo

Mighty (unregistered) 05.02.2013 20:50

There's a thin line between pornography & art, but who defines that line? Look at old European art pieces, many seem like pornography. Leslie should have gone to California for this.

Undo

JJ The Mad Mullah (unregistered) 05.02.2013 16:11

Yeah but this Photographer just got a really good Lawyer with all the money
he made. This turned out to be the biggest selling book among men in Israel.

Undo