Artist Assignment: Part I

1. Hiroshi Sugimoto
2. "Theaters" is composed of images of the interior of a movie theatre auditorium, taken from the back of the auditorium. In these shots, the screen is centered in the image, and acts as the brightest element and the light source of the shot.
3. Sugimoto describes the concept of the project "Theaters" to be an attempt to capture an entire film in a single shot. By placing the camera at the back of the auditorium, Sugimoto makes the photograph's composition similar to what a viewer might see if she were watching a movie in the theatre herself.
4. Centered in the frame of each shot is the screen of the movie theatre. Above it, part of the ceiling is often visible, sometimes including elaborate wainscoting and other decorative architectural elements. Beneath, we can occasionally see seats that observers might occupy, or, in several images, a stage-like platform.
5. The objects placed in the frame are the objects that one might find in a regular movie theatre, allowing the viewer to place himself in the position of an audience member. The aberrant element of this scene is therefore the screen, which, rather than showing an image from a film, is brightly-lit, almost a white canvas on the image.
6. The way Sugimoto describes the concept, it is an exercise in capturing an extended period of time in a single image, but in an unconventional way. He effectively removes any distractions from the viewer by using a deadpan interpretation of the movie theatre, and allows the image to be as it would appear to the human eye. Nevertheless, the lighting of the images is striking- a chiaroscuro and poetic image taken without any needless elaboration.

1. Mugshots from Sydney, Australia (photographer unknown)
2. Each image contains two to three photographs of the same individual, standing in a decrepit but sparse environment, with writing that appears to be an addition to the photograph after development, appearing to state various information- possibly the name, height and weight of the individual, and appearing to show the date.
3. The images are mugshots, taken out of the archives of the Sydney police. Their intention, as a result, was to bear effigies of the individuals who had committed crimes. The images are unusual for mugshots, however, in that they appear to be more appropriately described as portraits than effigies. However, all of the formal elements of the images point to the original purpose of these shots- that is, as documentary images of suspected criminals.
4. Again, some of these images contain chairs, curtains, or various other unremarkable backgrounds. Each images contains a human subject, or several, often from different positions, such as a profile or three-quarter shot. Each image also contains text, detailing various information about the suspected criminal.
5. The objects in the screen besides the human subject indicate nothing other than a standard mugshot format, however, the human subjects are portrayed artistically, in unusual poses and with unusual expressions for a person being brought in to the police station. In several images, the subjects are looking down- hardly the most efficient position by which to identify a criminal, and in one specifically, the subject, a man, has his back to the camera.
6. One cannot help but speculate as to the nature of the photographer when viewing these images, given that the people portrayed in them responded so expressively to his camera. It is possible that the rarity of having one's photo taken in the 1920's provoked these unusual reactions, but it seems more likely still that there was a certain charisma or an ability to elicit honest reactions from others that the photographer possessed. Regardless of the formal qualities of the images- or perhaps, in conjunction with these qualities, the images are portraits of a segment of that society of the time that does not seem entirely unnerved by their situation.