World Trade Center, 1997
Church of the Light, 1997
Chapel of Notre Dame Du Haut, 1998
Eiffel Tower, 1998
Architecutre
Early-twentieth century modernism was a watershed moment in cultural history, a stripping away of superfluous decoration. The spread of democracy and the innovations of the Machine Age swept aside the ostentation that heretofore had been a signifier of power and wealth.
I set out to trace the beginnings of our age via architecture. Pushing out my old large-format camera’s focal length to twice-infinity―with no stops on the bellows rail, the view through the lens was an utter blur―I discovered that superlative architecture survives the onslaught of blurred photography. Thus I began erosion-testing architecture for durability, completely melting away many of the buildings in the process.
- Hiroshi Sugimoto