Ionian Sea, Santa Cesarea III

1990

Hiroshi Sugimoto

(Japanese, 1948-)

Culture

Japan

Medium

gelatin silver print

Measurements

Image: 42.2 x 54.2 cm (16 5/8 x 21 5/16 in.); Paper: 48.7 x 60.2 cm (19 3/16 x 23 11/16 in.); Matted: 63.5 x 81.3 cm (25 x 32 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry, Mrs. John B. Dempsey, and Mr. Donald F. Barney Jr., in honor of Brenda and Evan Turner 1994.24

Impression

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Description

In his striking, minimal seascapes, Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto conveys the sensation of timelessness and infinite space. For this series, begun in 1980, he traveled the world to photograph vast bodies of water from high cliffs using a large-format camera. By eliminating all indications of land and humanity, Sugimoto revealed the subtle differences in atmosphere, light, wind, and wave patterns at each site. In these three prints, the junction of sea and sky is depicted in the morning, on a foggy day not long before noon, and one hour after dusk. With trance-like intensity, these evocative seascapes provide cogent metaphors for transience, emptiness, and dislocation.