Back in 2013, Sugimoto was invited by the Museum of Modern Art in New York to take part in a photographic commission program to create a work for the upcoming anniversary of the Atrium Garden. While he was working outdoors, he accidentally saw a statue of Jacometti and decided to leave the Sculpture Garden with a twinkle in the spirit light. Moving his teacher to the museum's indoor showroom, he turned his camera to the classics in the collection, and a new series of works was born.
Like Sugimoto's earlier “Architecture” series, the images present a hazy, out of focus. Familiar masterpieces from the past become blurred, challenging the viewer's visual memory, forcing us to recognize and acknowledge each object, and contemplate their contemporary meaning. Dr. Sugimoto asked a question about image memory: Can we still remember the original creative ideas and essence of a work when a work is detached from its preconceived ideas?
