Hiroshi Sugimoto
Librairie Marian Goodman is pleased to present a Hiroshi Sugimoto exhibition bringing together three prints from two distinct projects: 鈥淒ioramas鈥� and 鈥淨uattro Ragazzi鈥�.
Whereas they usually show reconstituted scenes featuring wildlife or our prehistoric hominid ancestors, the two prints exhibited here feature landscapes, making them an exception in the corpus of 鈥淒ioramas.鈥� As Sugimoto points out, 鈥淢y daydreams and my enthusiasm retreated further back 鈥� to nature prior to the advent of humanity, to untouched 'natural' nature.鈥�
These two photographs immerse us in the 鈥渦nnatural nature鈥� of the diorama, whose specificity is to compose a realistic scene by bringing together diverse objects. For Sugimoto, photographing these scenographic boxes means tricking the viewer, giving them the illusion that they are seeing a real scene when in fact it is factitious.
The artist鈥檚 technique (long exposure times, use of reflectors, particular use of silver toners) helps create an image that seems to have been taken from real life. As Sugimoto points out, 鈥渕y photographs exist in a space between objects that deceive and people who are deceived鈥� and as a result of this game of trickery, the artist ends up wondering if 鈥減erhaps the true deceit is what we call reality.鈥�
The two works were deliberately chosen for their contrasts: the primeval forest in which the diffuse rays of light blur into an illusion of the dense foliage is set against a desolate, chill horizontal landscape bathed in hyperborean light. As Sugimoto points out, the 鈥淒ioramas include many of the world鈥檚 constituent parts. The only thing absent is life itself.鈥� For this artist, this is equivalent to 鈥渒illing something that was already dead.鈥�
The third work is from the 鈥淨uattro Ragazzi鈥� series and first shown in New York to celebrate 110 years of the Japan Society. In this undertaking conceived as a travelogue in images, Sugimoto follows the stages of the Tensho Embassy led in 1582 by Mancio Ito and three other Christian samurais from Japan to Italy.
Sugimoto delves into the story of these 鈥渜uattro ragazzi鈥� as he was travelling in Italy he had the sense that he has heard the men鈥檚 voices telling him that 鈥淲e want you to see through your eyes the same European scenes that we once saw.鈥�5 Sugimoto鈥檚 photographs of a selection of sites visited by these travellers form a kind of document showing the seas, the artifacts and architectural masterpieces and the works of art that they might have encountered.
鈥淐anticle of the Sun鈥� or 鈥淐anticle of the Creatures鈥� is a photograph of the famous religious chant composed by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1224. This text reflects its author鈥檚 personal theology, his sense of fraternity with the whole of creation, be it animal, elemental or heavenly. And we know that the Tensho embassy visited Assisi June 7 in 1585 for half a day en route to Rome. The presence of this text with its animist overtones resonates like the symbol of a bridge between the two cultures that this journey brought into contact with each other: Shinto animism and Christianity.
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Librairie Marian Goodman is pleased to present a Hiroshi Sugimoto exhibition bringing together three prints from two distinct projects: 鈥淒ioramas鈥� and 鈥淨uattro Ragazzi鈥�.
Whereas they usually show reconstituted scenes featuring wildlife or our prehistoric hominid ancestors, the two prints exhibited here feature landscapes, making them an exception in the corpus of 鈥淒ioramas.鈥� As Sugimoto points out, 鈥淢y daydreams and my enthusiasm retreated further back 鈥� to nature prior to the advent of humanity, to untouched 'natural' nature.鈥�
These two photographs immerse us in the 鈥渦nnatural nature鈥� of the diorama, whose specificity is to compose a realistic scene by bringing together diverse objects. For Sugimoto, photographing these scenographic boxes means tricking the viewer, giving them the illusion that they are seeing a real scene when in fact it is factitious.
The artist鈥檚 technique (long exposure times, use of reflectors, particular use of silver toners) helps create an image that seems to have been taken from real life. As Sugimoto points out, 鈥渕y photographs exist in a space between objects that deceive and people who are deceived鈥� and as a result of this game of trickery, the artist ends up wondering if 鈥減erhaps the true deceit is what we call reality.鈥�
The two works were deliberately chosen for their contrasts: the primeval forest in which the diffuse rays of light blur into an illusion of the dense foliage is set against a desolate, chill horizontal landscape bathed in hyperborean light. As Sugimoto points out, the 鈥淒ioramas include many of the world鈥檚 constituent parts. The only thing absent is life itself.鈥� For this artist, this is equivalent to 鈥渒illing something that was already dead.鈥�
The third work is from the 鈥淨uattro Ragazzi鈥� series and first shown in New York to celebrate 110 years of the Japan Society. In this undertaking conceived as a travelogue in images, Sugimoto follows the stages of the Tensho Embassy led in 1582 by Mancio Ito and three other Christian samurais from Japan to Italy.
Sugimoto delves into the story of these 鈥渜uattro ragazzi鈥� as he was travelling in Italy he had the sense that he has heard the men鈥檚 voices telling him that 鈥淲e want you to see through your eyes the same European scenes that we once saw.鈥�5 Sugimoto鈥檚 photographs of a selection of sites visited by these travellers form a kind of document showing the seas, the artifacts and architectural masterpieces and the works of art that they might have encountered.
鈥淐anticle of the Sun鈥� or 鈥淐anticle of the Creatures鈥� is a photograph of the famous religious chant composed by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1224. This text reflects its author鈥檚 personal theology, his sense of fraternity with the whole of creation, be it animal, elemental or heavenly. And we know that the Tensho embassy visited Assisi June 7 in 1585 for half a day en route to Rome. The presence of this text with its animist overtones resonates like the symbol of a bridge between the two cultures that this journey brought into contact with each other: Shinto animism and Christianity.
Artists on show
