Seascape: Ligurian Sea, near Saviore 1993

Curator: We are now looking at Hiroshi Sugimoto's "Seascape: Ligurian Sea, near Saviore" created in 1993 using photography. What is your immediate impression of the artwork? Editor: Serenity. It's an incredibly minimalist piece; the horizon bisecting the frame with shades of grey above and below creates this immense feeling of calm. Almost hypnotic, isn't it? I am curious, what does the photographic process involve here? Curator: Absolutely. Sugimoto meticulously controls every aspect of the photographic process. He typically uses a large format camera, and his signature is printing in monochrome with long exposures, often blurring the distinction between water and sky into ethereal gradients. This precise control reveals the interplay between objectivity and artistic intervention. Editor: I see a focus on duration and labor. A work that is almost industrially generated, produced from these methods of manufacture that speak volumes. What’s interesting, from a production standpoint, is how he captures seemingly infinite depth in such a constrained composition through mechanical means. It's almost as if he lets the equipment mediate this perception. Curator: Precisely. In his Seascapes series, this work embodies a certain formalism and pure depiction; the almost complete erasure of detail urges us to look at the structural and elemental essence of the ocean itself. This pushes at a sort of sublime void. Editor: True, but doesn't it also reveal how even minimalist works are thoroughly dependent on industrial materials and skilled darkroom practice? There's a physical commitment in the silver gelatin print itself. Curator: Yes, and the materials used affect how the final image interacts with the viewer’s perception. Editor: Ultimately, Sugimoto highlights not only an ocean at the Ligurian Sea but also the constructed nature of all our images and what happens when this photographic image is materialized. It prompts introspection on both its concept and craft. Curator: Very well articulated; by using simplified imagery with a formal construction, the reduction becomes an impactful visual symbol.