Known for the theatricality of his beautiful black-and-white photographs, Hiroshi Sugimoto is above all a photographer-philosopher. For this meticulous artist, the camera is merely a tool to explore the invisible, the border between fiction and reality. This series is a sort of “re-reading” of William Fox Talbot, inventor of the photographic negative, known in the 19th century as a “photogenic drawing.” Inspired by the innovative “negative-positive” process, Sugimoto re-examines in his new images the magic of these first “drawings with light,” using original negatives which he acquired as an avid art collector.
“Negatives predating any reliable method of fixing the image are always in danger of changing if exposed to the slightest light,” says Sugimoto. “I, however, had to take that risk to return to the very origins of photography and see those first positive images for myself. With fear and trepidation, I set about this task like an archaeological explorer excavating an ancient dynastic tomb.” Although the photographic technique has developed, the subjects remain the same. Sugimoto strives to capture still lifes, landscapes, portraits and architecture in minute detail. These tinted grey, blue, green and yellow images seem to take us, in their energy and elemental nature, a few decades into the past. They are nonetheless contemporary. One must admire the attention to the detail and the atmosphere of these large-format works. They demonstrate that the earliest forms of photography remains a model for today’s artists. With this series, Hiroshi Sugimoto delivers his first genre work. It is a journey back to the origins of photography, before the dawn of digital.
Jonas Cuénin
Hiroshi Sugimoto: Photogenic Drawings
Through February 25, 2012, at the Fraenkel Gallery
49 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 981-2661
