Hiroshi Sugimoto

ISEA Bio(s) Available:

• ISEA2000

  Sugimoto’s career as a photographer began with the series Dioramas (1976-1980, resumed in 1992). In the Museum of Natural History in New York, he photographed stuffed wild animal exhibits in front of painted landscapes. Theaters (1978-1980), the series that followed, dealt with the interiors of American theatres from the 1920-1930’s that had been converted into cinemas. Putting the screen in the middle of the frame, Sugimoto exposed his film throughout the entire projection. This is how the light from the screen—completely overexposed in the picture—meticulously lights up the cinema’s decor. The third series is entitled Seascapes (1980). Essential elements like the sea, air, light and horizon correspond to a persistent study of time and the original state of human memory.