“Photography is a relatively novel medium of artistic expression, far newer than painting and sculpture, which date back to the early days of humanity…I consider fossils a ‘pre-photography time-recording device,’ and they are no doubt the oldest form of art, although I am well aware that they date to a time long before the rise of humanity, which created the concept of ‘art.’…organisms reemerge from the depths as fossils when stratigraphic layers are removed. If the strata are ‘negatives’ of past life, fossils are there ‘positive’ images.”
by Hiroshi Sugimoto on the parallel of negatives and geological strata
For this precise concept, Hiroshi Sugimoto was commissioned to isolate fashion designs in black and white images that capture the historical period and existence of sculptural fashion. When we think about clothing, we think about how the person wears the clothing. Hiroshi Sugimoto selected specific Japanese designer clothing that wears the person. Each of the following pieces could be worn by a slender female, sculpted male, burlesque dancer, or even a humble monk, and each of the piece would stand alone as a sole sculpture regardless the shape or size of the human-being propping the piece. Sugimoto carefully selected these delicately shaped sculptures, thinner than the most delicate slice of glass or smoothed porcelain, that maintain an art form. When you peruse through the Asian Art Museum exhibit, please take note of how Sugimoto meticulously aims the brights to cast various shades and light onto each piece and onto the floor.
On its lag leg of its journey before returning to the Kyoto Fashion Museum, these fashionable sculptures are on exhibit at the Asian Art Museum through Sunday, January 6, 2008.
Photo Credits: Hiroshi Sugimoto Stylized Sculpture series at the Asian Art Museum
Clockwise: Dress and bodysuit by Junya Watanabe, Spring/Summer 1999; Dress by Issey Miyake, Spring/Summer 1994; Dress by Yohji Yamamoto, Spring/Summer 1998; Dress by Tao Kurihara, Spring/Summer 2007
