Between “Over turning” and “Sky-High Prices”: Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Artistic Revolution

Some people say that his works are seriously flawed, with out-of-focus images and dark tones. But it is precisely these works that have fetched sky-high prices in the art market.

As an early collector of Hiroshi Sugimoto’s works in China, I admire his artistic philosophy. He once said, “Life is a long exposure. The exposure begins at birth and ends when one dies.” All that we have seen and felt is the result of this long exposure. This viewpoint runs through his “Theatre” series of creations. By condensing tens of thousands of frames from a movie into a single static image, he sets the black and white tones to freeze the stage lighting and shadows, and the dark tones give the space a sculptural texture. This allows viewers to imagine and feel the eternal charm of theatrical art in the torrent of time within the static picture.

Hiroshi Sugimoto is not a traditional photographer; rather, he is an explorer of light and shadow. In the “Seascape” series, he uses black and white tones to capture the purity of the sea. Through the technique of long exposure, the surging waves are frozen into a mirror-like calm scene. The hazy horizon blurs the boundary between heaven and earth. By allowing viewers to look beyond the surface, he enables them to understand time and eternity, thus opening up a new ideological dimension for the art of photography.

The Jiangzhipu MeteorologicalObservatory is a perfect embodiment of his architectural philosophy. He combined primitive stones, rustic wood, modern glass and weather-resistant steel to create the Summer Solstice Light Pilgrimage Corridor, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows allowing viewers to enjoy the vast and boundless sea level, echoing the sea scenery photography; the Winter Solstice Light Tunnel adopts progressive windows, enabling viewers to gradually view the expansive sea surface from a narrow perspective, giving the cycle of sunrise and sunset a meaning of life. The building integrates the themes of ocean, life and eternity into its details, allowing people to experience the true essence of time and life in the fusion of nature and architecture.
When immersed in Hiroshi Sugimoto’s works, one can truly appreciate his profound understanding of nature, culture and time. Whether it is photography or architecture, they all present rich connotations through unique perspectives and exquisite expressions, and are worthy of being savored and pondered over repeatedly.