Sunday, September 14, 2008

Hiroshi Sugimoto





Hiroshi Sugimoto is a sublime and even ecstatic artist. Buddhist inspired or informed, very silent and quiet, empty but always pointing or at least hinting at other possibilities, other worlds. He's on the leading edge of art today. His work, for me at least, does what great art should do, invites us to explore our intellect and imagination. I've always felt his photos as keys, stimulants for the imagination. They are so quiet and empty, as much about what is not there as what is. This series is called "Seascapes" and here is what the artist has to say:

"Water and air. So very commonplace are these substances, they hardly attract
attention―and yet they vouchsafe our very existence.
The beginnings of life are shrouded in myth: Let there water and air. Living phenomena
spontaneously generated from water and air in the presence of light, though that could
just as easily suggest random coincidence as a Deity. Let's just say that there happened
to be a planet with water and air in our solar system, and moreover at precisely the right
distance from the sun for the temperatures required to coax forth life. While hardly
inconceivable that at least one such planet should exist in the vast reaches of universe,
we search in vain for another similar example.
Mystery of mysteries, water and air are right there before us in the sea. Every time I view
the sea, I feel a calming sense of security, as if visiting my ancestral home; I embark on a
voyage of seeing."

Hiroshi Sugimoto
Posted without permission, as no contact information is available. I post this in spite of not having permission, as this work is important, and this artist big enough to approve of this posting.



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