Pho·tog Friday: Hiroshi Sugimoto

Pho·tog Friday: Hiroshi Sugimoto

Hiroshi Sugimoto, Radio City Music Hall, 1978.
 One of the aspects of photography which has always intrigued me is the simple fact that by taking a still image, I am able to freeze a moment in time.  In some cases, I'm also able to preserve whatever I was feeling at the time the image was taken. Have you ever looked back at a photograph that you took last year -or- five years ago and been reminded of an specific emotion?  Or perhaps the old photograph that you took many moons ago reminds you of a conversation that had occurred when the image was shot?  Allow me to pose a question, "Can the art of photography serve as a time machine"?  I would say the answer is simple: "yes".  Japanese photographer, Hiroshi Sugimoto, might also answer "yes" to this same question. 

Born in 1948, Sugimoto currently lives and works Tokyo and New York City.  An important thing to understand about Sugimoto's photography and his photographic process is that it has been influenced by one of the most famous Surrealist and Dada artists of all time: Marchel Duchamp.  Not only is Sugimoto's photography influenced by Duchamp's artwork but also by Duchamp's philosophy on art.  Duchamp is known for working with "readymade" objects and Sugimoto does the same.  

Let's take a look at a few of Sugimoto's photographs and ask ourselves these two questions: a) would they be considered "readymade" objects and b) do these objects potentially "freeze a moment in time"? I encourage you to think about these two questions both literally and metaphorically. 
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Tri City Drive-In, 1993.
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Conic Surface of Revolution with Constant Negative Curvature and Screw, 2004.
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Work Gear and Dini's Surface: A Surface of Constant Negative Curvature Obtained by Twisting a Pseudosphere, 2004.

To learn more about Hiroshi Sugimoto's photography, process and influences, please check out the episode from PBS's Art21 series titled "Memory":

 

01.  Hiroshi Sugimoto. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2013.
02. "Hiroshi Sugimoto: Conceptual Forms." Web log post. Minimal Exposition. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Aug. 2013.
03. "Hiroshi Sugimoto on Memory." YouTube. YouTube, 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 08 Aug. 2013.
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