3 March 2014
Hiroshi Sugimoto is the protagonist of an exhibition at the Getty Center presenting works selected from three different series of photographs: Dioramas, a return to the origins of photography with scenes from museums of natural history; Portraits, pictures of wax statues representing historical figures taken against black backdrops and inspired by portraits painted by the old masters; and finally Photogenic Drawings, large-scale reproductions of some of the earliest pictures taken by William Fox Henry Talbot, one of the pioneers of photography and the man who invented the calotype process. Three reflections on the meaning of photography and its role in history, but also a paean to slowness, a declaration of love for the most sophisticated craftsmanship of the image.
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Past Tense
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Center
Los Angeles
February 4 – June 8 2014
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Sable Antelope, 1994. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Photographs Council. © Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Birds of Japan, United States, North America, 1994. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Photographs Council. © Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Polar Bear, 1976. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Photographs Council. © Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Wapiti, 1980. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Photographs Council. © Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Henry VIII, 1999. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Commissioned by Deutsche Bank AG in consultation with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation for the Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin. © Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Queen Victoria, 1999. Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco. © Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Hiroshi Sugimoto, A Stem of Delicate Leaves of an Umbrellifer, circa 1843–1846, 2009. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of the Artist. © Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Hiroshi Sugimoto Japanese, Roofline of Lacock Abbey, circa 1835–1839, 2008. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of the Artist. © Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Bust of Venus, November 26, 1840, 2009. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Gift of the Artist. © Hiroshi Sugimoto.