Hiroshi Sugimoto and the photography of theatre

Abstract

Hiroshi Sugimoto is best known for his photography, particularly his ongoing series of cinema interiors, of seascapes and of the dioramas from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Relying on a large-format camera and often exposing negatives for several hours, Sugimoto produces images with striking visual clarity. Eliminating any perceptible grain and meticulously retouching the prints, Sugimoto produces that ‘genuine photographic illusion … the total transparency of the medium’ (Müller-Tamm 2010: 33). With their remarkable resolution, these photographs almost appear too detailed, sometimes becoming more lifelike than their profilmic objects.