Linke - Artinfo

10 Questions for
Hiroshi Sugimoto
The “Couleurs de l’Ombre”
scarves that you recently
designed for Hermès were
your first collaboration with
a fashion brand. Why did you
decide to do them?
It’s really not like Murakami’s or
Kusama’s collaborations
[with Louis Vuitton]. It’s not a
commercial production. It’s
more a case of serious art sold
at art prices. The scarves are
not selling in the stores; they’re
presented in museums or
galleries. But art has become
very commercialized anyway.
Given the subtlety of color
gradations in your work and
the technical difficulties of
creating this effect on silk,
how happy are you with the
final results?
I think technically it’s very
successful and I’m very happy.
What I like about Hermès is
their very high standard of
quality control. That’s why I
agreed to this project.
Craftsmanship is something
I’ve always paid very strong
attention to in my own work;
that’s my quality control.
What’s the most
indispensable item in
your studio?
My negatives, and my negative
attitude.
Where are you finding ideas
for your work these days?
In my mind.
What’s the last show you saw
that surprised you?
Makoto Aida at the Mori Art
Museum. I found the show
interesting for its sexual and
moral codes.
What’s your favorite place
to see art?
In my living room.
What’s your favorite
post-gallery watering hole
or restaurant?
A Japanese hot-spring bath.
What international art
destination do you most
want to visit?
The yet-undiscovered pyramid
chambers of Egypt.
Who’s your favorite
living artist?
All the nearly dead artists.
Do you collect anything?
Ideas.
he felt was needed to give the story a religious dimension.
Sugimoto got involved in theater in 2001, when he integrated
his design for a Noh theater stage set into a presentation of his
photographs at the Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria. In his set design,
photographs from his “Pine Trees” and “Seascapes” series replaced
the traditional painted stage set, becoming an integral part of the
performance by the Naohiko Umewaka Noh Theater.
The artist says he has always been attracted to Japan’s medieval
era, the 15th century in particular, because at the time Japan
was “so separate from the influence of Chinese culture. It really had
a very unique culture, which I found fascinating.”
Noh theater dates from the late 14th century. A stylized stage art
that follows an extremely codified system, it is acted solely
by male performers, who often wear masks. Rhythmic recitation
of a text and symbolic, standardized gestures and dance
movements are performed to classical Japanese music. “I have
learned to train myself in reading those old texts. It’s a bit like CLOCKWISE FROM LOWER LEFT: TADZIO AND HERMÈS; TWO IMAGES, HIROSHI SUGIMOTO AND GALLERY KOYANAGI, TOKYO
clockwiSe froM lower left: tadzio and herMÈS; two iMageS, hiroShi SugiMoto and gallery koyanagi, tokyo
odawara art foundation and Shinji MaSakawa
Shakespeare, maybe a little harder,” Sugimoto laughs.
The Guggenheim Museum in New York is currently presenting
“Gutai: Splendid Playground,” a retrospective exhibition of the
Gutai Art Association (1954–72), a radically inventive, influential
Japanese art collective and movement. As part of this retrospective
and as a tribute to the spirit of Gutai, “Sanbaso: Divine Dance”
will be performed on March 28 and 29.
Sugimoto explains that the presentation will be traditional
with a contemporary twist. He is replacing the pine-tree landscape
associated with Noh theater with two panoramic banners from
his “Lightning Field” photographic series, representing the chaotic
era of the play. The dance will be performed once more this spring,
on April 26 at the Shibuya Cultural Center in Owada, Japan.
Sugimoto’s support for the traditional performing arts runs
deep. In 2009, he set up the Odawara Art Foundation to produce
and support classic theater forms. The artist is keen to bring Noh
theater back into its traditional performance setting—outdoors—
BlouinArtinfo.comAsiA | march/april 2013
Clockwise from
opposite page, far
left: Couleurs
de l’Ombre scarf
107, designed by
Sugimoto for
Hermès; Lightning
Fields 222, 2009,
from one of
the artist’s
ongoing
photographic
series; star
kyogen actor
Mansai Nomura,
wearing a
lightning-inspired
costume by
Sugimoto in a
performance of
“Sanbaso: Divine
Dance”; Five
Elements:
Tyrrherian Sea,
Positano, 2011,
composed of
clear optical glass
and inlaid
seascape film
taken by
Sugimoto in 1990.
and the foundation is currently building a theater in Odawara
that Sugimoto hopes will be finished in 2016.
“It has been designed to show traditional Noh theater, but it
could be used for any performance, including contemporary ones.
It’s more in the 15th-century style: outside and open, for people
to gather around a very small stage, only five meters square. It will
be quite intimate, with real pine trees everywhere,” he explains.
While in Paris for the October performances of The Love
Suicides at Sonezaki, Sugimoto will also present a video at
the Pierre Bergé–Yves Saint Laurent Foundation: Accelerated
Buddha, a version of his 1995 video, Sea of Buddhas, re-edited
using the latest digital technologies. In November, he opens a
retrospective at the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul.
Sugimoto points out that beyond Noh and bunraku, there’s still
one more traditional form of Japanese theater for him to tackle:
kabuki. “I’m just conquering them one by one,” he said, admitting that
he’s already thinking about how he will approach this next challenge.
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