exposure? SUGIMOTO. It just came to me conceptually. How can I capture an entire movie’s images? By
using longer exposure. Two hours, three hours, whatever the movie length is. The first movie I photo-
graphed was one with Audrey Hepburn during my high-school times. ANDREA. But that concept has
somehow stayed with you. Lots of people do series, and then they finish them and move onto something
else. But your series never have to end, which I think is remarkable. SUGIMOTO. There's no reason to end
[laughs]. Like with the Theaters series, we expanded to European opera theaters. And most recently, aban-
doned theaters. The technique remains basically the same, but we have to bring a power source to the
abandoned theaters. Electricity, projectors, and sometimes screens. Sometimes we have to wear hard
helmets. There’s nobody around, and I'm lucky that I’ve never been
seriously injured while shooting in these abandoned theaters. So
many things fall with such big booms, and I’m lucky nothing has
ever landed on me. The most important thing is to stay alive! AN-
DREA. I love that you were so inspired by Richter and his candle
painting. SUGIMOTO. Actually, that work came about in a different
way. I photographed my own creation, and then I discovered, "Oh,
wow, this is so similar to Richter." I decided to do it on my own, but
it seems I share interests with Richter. It's nice to have the same
kind of vision as other artists. ANDREA. Did anybody ever say you
were appropriating his imagery? SUGIMOTO. I didn't think about
him before I exercised my own work, which is photography, and his
is painting. We are meeting at some point in-between. ANDREA.
[Laughs] Great minds think alike. How do you feel your Japanese
identity informs your work and your position in the art world? SUG-
IMOTO. People expect me to say something Japanese in my work
because of my identity. I'm playing that role. I can do it very easily
and naturally, so why not? I grew up in Japan until the age of 22,
and then I moved here. I think that I got even more Japanese after
I moved to the United States, because people expected me to be
Japanese. I have to pretend that I am genuine, pure Japanese.
While I was a college student, I studied German, heavy-duty philosophy. I was more curious about Western
thought. But when I came to California in the 1970s, many people began to ask me about Zen Buddhism.
So I had to start studying Eastern philosophy in California to catch up and to be able to answer their ques-
tions! ANDREA. How do you feel the West has influenced your work? SUGIMOTO. It's all about thinking
logically. It comes from studying Marxism, Kant, Hegel. ANDREA. When I look at your work, I see medita-
tive, exquisite, and characteristically Eastern aesthetics. SUGIMOTO. The Japanese aesthetic is very hard
to explain my work. Many Japanese artists don't speak. Being quiet is considered more elegant, and
mysterious. ANDREA. I'm thinking of simplicity and refinement, as in the Seascapes. SUGIMOTO. Many
people see something in my Seascapes. It's just a reflection of the viewer’s mind. You know, I shouldn't
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Hyena-Jackal, Vulture, 1976
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