Hiroshi Sugimoto: Photogenic Drawing

In this series, Hiroshi Sugimoto investigates the scientific origins of photography. In 1834, William Henry Fox Talbot produced some of the very first photograms on sensitized paper, setting a variety of botanical specimens directly on the paper’s surface and exposing the paper to sunlight. These experiments eventually yielded rudimentary paper negatives made from a camera obscura. Talbot, however, never created positive prints from many of his negatives. Alongside many prominent museums, Sugimoto is also a collector of Talbot’s early negatives, and by making photographs of these fragile, delicate objects, Sugimoto aims to at last share these very early images with the world.

Color photograph of a yellow toned bridge above a lake framed in an aluminum frame
Color photograph of a sepia toned leaves with a black background in an aluminum frame
Color photograph of sepia toned leaves and flowers against a black background in an aluminum frame
Color photograph of a grey toned sculpture with three figures wrapped around a snake with a black background in an aluminum frame
Color photograph of a blue toned leaves and flowers with a black background in an aluminum frame
Color photograph of sepia toned portrait of a formal dressed figure with a black background in an aluminum frame
Color photograph of sepia toned leaves of asparagus on a black background in an aluminum frame
Color photograph of green toned florals on a black background in an aluminum frame
Color photograph of blue toned building by a black background in an aluminum frame
Color photograph of sepia toned Rosemary surrounded by a black background in an aluminum frame
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Color image of a folding screen with an image of a shore with large rock formations mounted onto the screen

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Black and white photograph of the horizon with equal parts sky and sea

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