Biography:
Creating a visual language with simple yet stunning white and black pictures seems to flow easy in the works of Hiroshi Sugimoto. Born in 1948 (Tokyo, Japan) he has proved to be a multi-faceted artist who is equally good in painting, installation and architecture apart from photography. His photography tries to capture the time and preserve it for the viewer. He has also explored several other themes such as empiricism, and metaphysics. In his works he tries to bridge the gap between what exists to a layman and how it can be transformed with a picture when laid in front of the viewers. He graduated in Politics and Sociology at Rikkyo University and in 1974 he received his BFA from Center College of Design, Pasadena, California. He later moved to New York City and established himself as of the finest contemporary photographer and an artist. He also worked as a Japanese antiques dealer in Soho. His works have been greatly influenced by Dada and Surrealist.
His work has been showcased in several places such as Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, and Los Angeles amongst several others. He uses old photography methods and tries to make much use of natural light to give his photographs a feeling of originality. He uses big format cameras as according to him it brings high quality snaps.
2001 – Hasselblad Foundation International Award (Hasselblad Honour).
2009 – Japanese Art Association: Praemium Imperiale prize for the ‘Painting’
2010 – Medal with Purple Ribbon
2013 – Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
2014 – Isamu Noguchi Award for Kindred Spirits in Innovation, Global Consciousness and Japanese/American Exchange
Series: Portrait
This series specifically captures interesting wax figures of people displayed in renowned museums. The artist has shot the pictures in three-quarter length view set against the black backgrounds. He has also lit the place which adds an element of mystery to the images. Some of his captures include shots of Henry VIII, Napoleon Bonaparte, Voltaire, and Princess Diana. The pictures give the viewer a feeling a reality. It seems as though the people shot in the portraits are actual and very mush existing in that moment. The black backdrop, the subtle effects of the light on the wax statues create a haunting scenario that will linger on the mind of the viewer for a long time. This succeeds the very purpose of the shoot and the series. The images are sure to take the viewer back to the time when these people actually were alive. It makes the viewer ponder about their lifestyle and gives a small glimpse of a lost era.
Series: dioramas
It took four decades for Hiroshi Sugimoto to call this series complete. Inspired by his trip to American Museum of Natural History in New York, he realised that every dioramas was a story in itself that needed to be captured with his lens. And he set out to do it in full swing. By recreating several new dioramas with animals, pre-historic humans, and many other sets he has captured some of the rarest emotions that seem to be hard to be put in words. The snaps just transfer the viewers to the scene where the viewer wants to settle down and does not feel like getting out. The dioramas are built to perfection in that sense. Every picture shot in this series is a treat in itself that needs to be savoured. The story of life, existence, fight, hardship and ultimately death is captured with an equal amount of empathy in each of his shots. The stunning black and white photographs are flawless without a single reflection gone out of control. If there is perfection in photography then this series definitely is close to the summit. The series was published in a book later with the title Hiroshi Sugimoto: Dioramas by Damiani.
Series: Colours of shadow
As quoted by the artist himself, “Light is my medium to be investigated”. This series shows the simple play of light captured stunningly in varied colours and perspectives. The series is quite conceptual and he has used colours in this for the first time, apart from his regular black and white routines. The pieces are very minimalist leaving a lot for the viewer to imagine. The still images show details are done in such a manner that the viewer sees what he / she usually ignore otherwise. The artist states that more than light this series reflects the action of the shadows. He has used 90, 55 and 35 degree angles on the traditional Japanese shikkui (plaster) as it absorbs more light and also reflects the same more evenly. The pictures show the viewers the intrinsic observations of the photographer which distinguishes him from the rest of the contemporary artists.
Series: Theatres
The quiet theatre spaces captured by the photographer give a deep sense of solitude and a sense of immigrant entering in an unknown space. The series upheld the old theatres and preserved them for the future generations which would otherwise have never been explored. Hiroshi Sugimoto would go to the theatres and would start his shoot right when the first light hit the screen until the credits were displayed before the lights came on. In this fashion he used the film itself to cover the light effects which lightened the interiors and surroundings. This series acts as his homage to the field of cinema. The blank screens as popularly termed this series invokes a lot of emotions in the viewer. On one hand it gives the viewer the acceptance of technology and the progression that the society was accepting and on the other it loudly displays the sense of void. The series was published by Yoshii Gallery, New York as a book.
Series: Seascapes
This series portrays the metaphysical, spiritual and mysterious elements that binds the sea to us. The sea for the viewer is all about waves and sand but here the artist is challenging the conventional notion. Most of the pictures show the sea with absolute still that questions the viewer in its own essence. The tranquillity brings the viewer to a feeling of serenity and inner peace. The black and white images have various elements of masterly photography technique used. The long exposed images have used neutral-density filter which separate them from the rest. The objective here seems to hold on to the stillness which also triggers a feeling of deep thinking and an urge to discover oneself. He began shooting this series in 1980 and has more than 200 pictures collectively. The pictures are put across in a book named Hiroshi Sugimoto: Seascapes published by Damiani and text is written by Munesuke Mita.
Series: Architecture
This exploration of the photographer led him to shoot some of the modern architectural icons of 20th century. These pictures essentially drop the clarity of time, structure and life in itself. It also depicts the inevitable inclination towards building better buildings. Some of the structures included in the series are Empire State Building by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, Le Corbusier's Chapel de Notre Dame du Haut and the Church of Light in Osaka. The photos signify the importance of these buildings in the modern eras and showcase how they stand tall and aloof amidst the chaos of the city routine. Shot at irregular angles, blur effects and out of focus techniques Hiroshi Sugimoto challenges the traditional methods of architectural photography. It also tries to portray the images as faint memories of buildings seen long time ago and how the viewer would recollect the buildings in reality. The series has been put together in a book with the title Hiroshi Sugimoto: Architecture and has been published by Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1 December 2003) with accompanying essays by Francesco Bonami, John Yau, and Marco Di Michelis.
Series: Lightning fields
This series is yet another niche of the photographer’s work. He has tried to depict the behaviour of electricity through the snaps. He has used Van De Graaff 400,000-volt generator which has been further applied to the film with an electric charge. This has encouraged him to create quirky, eccentric pictures of the electrical current instantly. At times the images appear like struck trees or look something out from the space. But this series has been a delight and a surprise in the truest form. It is a known fact that electricity poses major challenge to the photographers especially in situations where they are dealing with huge negatives. He has used this challenge and recreated it in such striking manner that it leaves the viewer in awe. These pictures create a sense of questioning in the viewer where every snap has a different pattern that provokes some thinking. There is a spark that immediately binds the viewer to the photo. And the same spark makes the viewer seek answers. The photos use gelatine silver print technique and surely arouses the viewer’s curiosity.
Series: Polarised colours
This series contains a range of pictures captured by the artist that display the action of light in a different way. The display of colours is so vivid that it captures the viewer in an unexpected moment. Sugimoto was amazed with the entire colour theory and was actually confused between the explanation offered by Newton and Goethe. While Newton offered a scientific explanation of the phenomenon, Goethe on the other hand set a different perspective of light that made it challenging and unique. Sugimoto going by the Goethe’s theory set out on this journey to understand the nuances of light and colour by capturing it with his lens. The coloured backgrounds with several variety of light effects makes every capture different from the other. The result has been simply amazing where every picture looks like a piece of a colourful poem singing a happy song. The snaps fill the viewer’s mind with a sense of positivity and make the whole series exemplary. As quoted by the artist himself, "Consistently clear Tokyo winter mornings found me swimming in a sea of colours."
Conclusion:
Works cited:
Hiroshi Sugimoto. Nd. Web. 25-02-2016
