PHOTOGRAPHY HIROSHI SUGIMOTO - THE ARCHITECTURE OF TIME
Japanese time traveller 0000
Sea of Japan, Rebun Island, 1996
Exposing the past by expending the present is the method that Hiroshi Sugimoto uses to produce his beautiful, ethereal photographs. Through the lens of a 19th century style American box camera, busy seascapes become unchartered territories, buildings destabilise into architectural visions and pine forests take root in ancient Japanese folklore. It is as though his black and white photographs are the negatives of the subject’s history before the colour and character of the present are added.
The Seascapes shown in Stills Gallery are foggy visions of ancient horizons that are shrouded in the mists of time. Hiroshi uses his quickest shutter speed on the seascapes to remove the power of the waves and expose the tranquillity that the sea possesses. Split equally into the elements of air and water by straight horizons, these photographs are stealthin mesmerising.
Equally contemplative are the large prints of pine trees housed in the Fruitmarket Gallery. Japanese ink painting, and the work of 16th century painter Hasegawa Tohaku inspire these photographs. Through their size and dark tones they conjure the notion of being on the edge of a moonlight forest. Upstairs in the gallery is Sugimoto’s series on Modernist buildings. Here iconic buildings from around the world are photographed out of focus to produce blurred outlines as though Sugimoto has produced memory graphs of the architects’ dreams. Sugimoto believes the better the design of the building the better it will deconstruct. Sugimoto is a time traveller able to conjure raw yet powerful and beautiful visions. (Isabella Weir)
I Fruitniarket Gallery. 225 2383 and Stills, 622 6200. until 27 Sep, {T3 (£150).
GRAFFITI ART OVERKILL INDULGENCE Bombin’ the Elph COO
Elph (Brian McFeely) is the Bongo's current artist-in- residence and this. his ‘one-writer show‘. is a very mixed bag indeed. Part graffiti. part typographic screenprints and an awful lot of filler: his exhibition chaotically teeters between homage. pop art and an all consuming self indulgence.
The majority of the exhibition is taken up with graffiti art that harks back to the late 708 early 808 pioneering work of DONDI. LADY PINK. and FUTURA 2000. His smaller graffiti works are easily the most successful. the man/women skateboards are lovely artefacts as are his Money Shot paintings and some of the Ali Yeas drawings. Elsewhere his ludicrous Yellow Submarine- style sprayings directly onto the gallery walls are a complete waste of space.
Lots of little images involvmg MeXican wrestler El Santo and RuSSian/Japanese iconography are impressive but it is his screenprints E/plieadsfont and Dragone/ph that really impress. being subversive. silly and very collectable. Definitely worth a glance. (Paul Dalel I New Street Exhibit/on Space. 3358 7604. until 26
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68 THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE “, . x 2
DESIGN 7». . 2 TAKE THE CHAIR 2 " '" '
Be seated for a show all about chairs 0..
It is a designer‘s job to marry function with beauty and Inhouse's exhibition Take the Chair 2 is a testament to the design evolution of that humble object. the chair. They have carefully illustrated its development with examples from the mid-19th century through to the modern day.
Michael Thonet's 7 4 was designed in 1859 and reveals the classic and simple shape with which 14 by Michael Thonet we are now so familiar — described as ‘one of the most perfect and successful industrial products in the world'.
Jumping forward 40 years. Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Argyle. designed for Miss Cranston's Tearoom. reveals his distinct Art Deco style — the high back intended to create a sense of intimacy. Functionality is pared down to its essential with Mart Stam's Cantilever. 1926. Simple. metal curves support a leather seat and it is no surprise to discover a communist ideology and aesthetic informing this construction.
With the advent and development of plastics in the 50s. there are some wonderful examples of 508 and 608 chic creations. Verner Panton's orange ‘stacking chair‘ of 1960 was the first single form injection moulded plastic chair. And baby. it‘s far out.
Take the Chair Inside is a stylish and perfectly formed exhibition. much like many of its exhibits. (Ruth Hedges)
I Inhouse. 225 2888. until 37 Aug, free,
MIXED MEDIA ABSTRACTION Something old, something new . . . O...
A stunning combination of the old and the new
At first glance. the lngleby‘s Festival exhibition is a modest selection of abstract paintings and objects. But first glances can be deceptive. A range of relics dating as far back as 3000BC sit atop plinths juxtaposed with abstract paintings by contemporary artists. It is a stunning combination of the old and the new.
Of particular note is Ellsworth Kelly's Blue Panel. Dispensing with the standard rectangular frame of traditional painting. Kelly's five- sided canvas of solid blue creates a intense Optical experience. drawing you in as you explore its co|0ur and form. Sitting in front of this is a Native American pestle of similar shape. They complement each other beautifully. Howard Hodgkin's Keepsake. a small-scale oil on wood — raspberry ripple swirls of glorious colour — is partnered with a curvy Anatolian female idol made from marble. lan Davenport's Untitled Circle Painting (TLIfQUOlSe) and a jadestone mace head is equally engaging. Davenport has poured the outline of a circle onto a small square frame using household paint. The paint dribbles just slightly over the edge. Mirroring this is the smooth. spherical mace head. which could quite easily be mistaken for a contemporary sculpture.
Abstraction is all about seeing and perceiving. Artefacts once intended for practical use become objects of beauty. The simplicity of form, visible in the contemporary works. remind us how timeless art can be. (Helen Monaghan)
I Ingleby Gallery, 536 444 1. until 7 Sep, free.