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Ametsuchi
An objective description of Rinko Kawauchi's Untitled, from the series Ametsuchi.
Summary:
This short descriptive paper provides a quick overview of Rinko Kawauchi’s work before objectively describing Untitled, from the series Ametsuchi.
Untitled, from the series Ametsuchi, is a chromogenic print created by Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi in 2012. The photograph measures 25 by 31 inches and is in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art collection. 1 A contemporary photographer born in Shiga Prefecture in 1972, Kawauchi graduated from the Seian Women's Junior College, now Seian University of Art and Design. 2 After graduation, she worked in commercial photography, where she learned the technical aspects of her trade and had weekend access to the facilities to develop her personal work. 3
Kawauchi’s early work is characterized by the use of a medium-format Rolleiflex camera with a square aspect ratio. Her images are typically poetic and dream-like, depicting details from ordinary life in desaturated colors. Her book Utatane, released in 2001, best exemplifies this work. Inspired partly by her dreams, Utatane, which translates to “catnap,” explores the states between sleeping and waking. In keeping with the theme of everyday life, the photographs she produced at this time were small. 4 Kawauchi’s book The Eyes, The Ears released in 2010, marks a departure from her earlier work. Though the subject matter is similar, Kawauchi displays her poetry alongside her photographs. She also incorporates multiple camera formats, aspect ratios, and prints of her contact sheets. 5
The same willingness to experiment and develop as an artist is evident two years later in her series Ametsuchi. For this series of photographs, Kawauchi was inspired by a dream of what she recounts as “almost frighteningly beautiful scenery.” She awoke with a desire to visit the place but was unsure if it existed. Roughly six months later, she saw the location on television and discovered it was the region surrounding the Mount Aso volcano in Kyushu Prefecture. She also learned the fire she witnessed in the dream is a process known as noyaki. Noyaki is the annual custom of burning the fields to renew farmland and protect the grasslands. The custom is a process of human intervention that has been practiced for around 1,300 years. Without the burns, the grasslands would return to woodlands. While grander in scope than Kawauchi’s earlier work, Ametsuchi is consistent with her examination of beauty in mundane practices. 6
For some years, Kawauchi returned to the Mount Aso region, taking pictures with a large format 4x5 camera. The resulting prints are much larger than her previous work, which she feels is in keeping with the universal issues she is trying to address. When naming a series or book, Kawauchi prefers titles with at least two meanings. In the case of Ametsuchi, there are three meanings. In addition to signifying heaven and earth as well as up and down, Ametsuchi is also the name of the oldest perfect pangram in the Japanese language. According to Kawauchi, her choice to use the name of Japan’s oldest chant is related to the theme of origins found in this series. 7
Upon examining Untitled, from the series Ametsuchi, the viewer can immediately discern that the photograph is a fine-art quality print. The aspect ratio is in keeping with a large-format 4x5 camera. Furthermore, despite the print’s large size, all areas retain a high degree of detail.
The photograph is divided into three main areas: the foreground, the center, and the sky. The viewer’s eye is first drawn to the center of the photograph, the area of greatest contrast where the action is occurring. The hill has a simplified, round shape without structures, trees, or people. Only the tufts of dry grass hint at a sense of scale. Both the left and right sides of the hill have been cropped, forcing it to occupy a larger portion of the frame and cementing its role as the focus of the photograph. A thin, straight line of flames bisects the hill, symmetrically dividing it into halves with one side of solidly blackened charred grass and another of unburnt dried grass. Flames advance from behind the right side of the hill, indicating that the remaining dried grass will soon burn. The biggest conflagration is at the base of the hill, which adds drama and intensity to the scene. The saturated orange hues cause the flames to stand out from the remainder of the photograph, which is primarily limited to browns, grays, and blacks.
Black smoke rises into the upper portion of the photograph and concentrates above the lighter, unburnt portion of the hill, suggesting a checkerboard pattern. White wisps of residual smoke rise from the charred areas, producing a smoldering effect. While the smoke occludes what otherwise appears to be a fair, blue sky, it does not obstruct the view of the scene, and the sky remains the brightest portion of the photograph.
The foreground is the darkest portion of the photograph, consisting of mostly blackened terrain sporadically interspersed with unburnt areas and tufts of dry grass. In addition to providing a vague sense of scale, the foreground provides information about the photographer's vantage point. The viewer can clearly ascertain that she is situated at a safe distance from the hill but with a clear view of the action. While we usually associate fire with danger, there is no sense of fear, panic, or suffering. Instead, the photographer calmly allows the viewer to be an impartial witness to the destructive process of the fire. As if in a dream state, the burning of the fields is simply an event taking place at a physical and emotional distance, which the viewer may choose to calmly observe.
Bibliography
1 SFMOMA, “Artwork Info,” https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/2014.269 (accessed July 13, 2024).
2 Rinko Kawauchi Official Website “Biography,” https://rinkokawauchi.com/en/biography/ (accessed July 14, 2024).
3 Chris Vidal Tonomaa, “Rinko Kawauchi,” SSAW Magazine, March 15, 2016, 194-195.
4 SFMOMA, “Rinko Kawauchi Contemplates the Small Mysteries of Life,” filmed March 2016, https://www.sfmoma.org/watch/rinko-kawauchi-contemplates-small-mysteries-life/.
5 Jörg Colberg, “Rinko Kawauchi: Light and Shadow,” filmed March 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyOs1Z3gDyc.
6 SFMOMA,“Rinko Kawauchi Contemplates the Small Mysteries of Life.”
7 Aperture Foundation, “Rinko Kawauchi on Ametsuchi,” filmed May 2013, https://vimeo.com/69247890.
Water Towers and 99 Cent
A comparative analysis of Hilla and Bernd Becher’s Water Towers and Andreas Gursky’s 99 Cent.
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At first glance, Water Towers and 99 Cent are different and unrelated photographs. Water Towers by Bernd and Hilla Becher is a series of nine black and white photographs taken in Europe and North America between 1972 and 2009. Currently held in the Tate collection, this work is part of a larger group of similar pieces covering winding towers, grain towers, and industrial facades. 1 Conversely, 99 Cent by Andreas Gursky, created in 1999, is a modern large-scale color photograph of the interior of a discount store in Los Angeles. The work is a chromogenic print on Plexiglas measuring almost 11 x 7 feet, 2 with copies owned by The Broad, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Musée National d’Art Moderne. 3 Despite their apparent differences, both works are part of the same movement, the Düsseldorf School of Photography, named for the school where Bernd and Hilla Becher taught and which Andreas Gursky attended as their student. Comparing and contrasting Water Towers and 99 Cent from the perspective of the Düsseldorf School of Photography provides a deeper understanding of the images than if each work were considered in isolation.
Bernd and Hilla Becher founded the photography department at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1976.4 Their teachings set the standards for the movement, including an emphasis on photographic technique and highly-quality, detailed prints. The Becher’s work focused on creating a photographic record of aging industrial structures. Water Towers typifies the Becher’s work, including the use of large format cameras to capture the towers in high detail, allowing the viewer to see all structural elements. They also used telephoto lenses to eliminate distortion and accurately render forms. Black and white photography and silver gelatin prints were standard in fine art photography when the Bechers began their work in 1958.5 Their decision to continue this tradition allowed consistency between the various structures they photographed while simplifying the images and emphasizing the forms.
Gursky remained faithful to the detail and quality associated with the Düsseldorf School. However, as a photographer who began working in the early 1980s, he also embraced a modern approach to color photography. To produce 99 Cent, Gursky took a series of photographs with large format cameras. He then scanned the negatives and digitally manipulated the photos to create a single image. This working process enabled Gursky to produce a print of considerable size while retaining the requisite detail expected in a fine art print.6
The artists’ emphasis on detail lent itself to the detached documentary style of the Düsseldorf School. In Water Towers, the Bechers adopted a straightforward compositional style frequently used in architectural photographs. They took great care to present the water towers uniformly using the same point of view and similar horizon lines. With the help of telephoto lenses, the Bechers isolated the towers from their environments and allowed them to occupy the entirety of the photograph. To emphasize form and maintain consistency between photographs, the Bechers photographed on overcast days to reduce shadows.7 Eliminating distractions also necessitated photographing without people present. The resulting photographs allowed the viewer to focus solely on the structures for the purpose of comparison.
In 99 Cent, Gursky suggested a documentary approach using methods similar to the Bechers, albeit with a twist. When we first look at 99 Cent, we see a straightforward photo of a discount store taken from a high angle, allowing an unfettered view of the interior. The horizontally parallel aisles emphasize the layout and perspective. Indeed, the composition is similar to three-dimensional images produced in computer-aided design software. While people are present, they are small and largely hidden. Their interactions are minimal and mundane, with none standing out. As with the Becher’s images, these devices allow the viewer to organize the image despite the profusion of merchandise. However, when we see the merchandise mirrored on the ceiling, we realize Gursky has manipulated the image. Upon further scrutiny, we also note the wideness of the image and a remarkable lack of distortion. While mathematically perfect, the perspective does not reflect reality.
Given the high level of detail, it is not surprising an equal degree of effort was put into organization. The Bechers organized the structures they photographed into what they called “typologies.” Structures were first classified according to their function, then according to their building materials, and lastly, according to their shared characteristics.8 All photographs within a typology corresponded to one another. Additionally, there were horizontal, vertical, and diagonal correspondences.9 As the title implies, only water towers are included in Water Towers. Winding and grain towers constitute separate typologies and are additional pieces in the Tate collection. All the water towers in Water Towers are made of reinforced concrete and have a conical shape. Horizontal rows 1 and 3 have larger tanks in relation to their bases. Horizontal row 2 has the smallest tanks in relation to their bases. The top and bottom images of vertical row 3 have the highest horizon lines. The water towers at the bottom of vertical row 1 and the top of vertical row 3 have the most substantial exterior supports. All towers in horizontal row 2 and vertical row 2 have visible doors. The center photograph has the basic form and features found in all the surrounding pictures.
There are no typologies in 99 Cent, nor is there an attempt at truthful representation for artistic and historical purposes. Instead, we are confronted with categorization in the service of consumerism. We see a staggering array of consumer goods immaculately organized aisle after aisle. Gursky achieved this effect by eliminating depth of field, thereby flattening the image and giving all areas equal focus. To add to the chaos, Gursky duplicated and reorganized products and aisles, in addition to mirroring the merchandise on the ceiling and intensifying the image's color. By combining multiple detailed photographs into a single large-scale image, the viewer has been given visual access to the entirety of the store in overwhelming detail. In this respect, 99 Cent is much like Becher's typologies since it can be viewed as a whole or at the level of the finest detail. However, Gursky designed his piece to induce overstimulation rather than thoughtful examination.
From this point of view, we can understand both pieces as social commentary. Bernd Becher’s family had worked in the mining sector for some generations. While mundane industrial structures were generally considered to be of little architectural value, he and Hilla recognized their significance and understood the need to create a historical record for their preservation. They chose structures most influenced by their function, selecting those that best represented the culture and economies of the area and period in which they were built. When selecting, photographing, and presenting a structure, the Bechers believed objectivity was paramount. In the documentary Contacts, Hilla Becher stated, “For me, the purpose of photography is to see in an objective way…And objectivity does not mean that the truth has been found. Far from it. It means the object represented is allowed to speak for itself.”10 Photography becomes a means for the artist to see the world with the clarity and detachment required to give agency to their subjects and allow them to find their own place in the historical record.
In 99 Cent, Gursky also chose a mundane subject, a discount store inherently considered to be of little worth. However, he did not elevate the store's status or seek to photograph it for posterity. Instead, he altered the scene to present a hyperrealistic image from an impossible vantage point. People are anonymous and secondary to the endless aisles of brightly packaged merchandise occupying the floor and ceiling. Access to goods is no longer productive or beneficial but rather an overpowering nightmare of choice, overabundance, and waste. Despite the alterations to the image, Gursky, like the Bechers, is very interested in recording history, as is evident in the quote, “I feel a bit like a recording device expressing the spirit of the time in my own particular way.”11 Gursky’s approach to setting down history is not one of strict documentation but rather a flexible process resulting in a symbolic record. 99 Cent is an image that could apply to any store and represents a commentary on consumerism that is increasingly true worldwide.
In isolation, 99 Cent might be challenging to accept as a depiction of a mundane shopping experience. Likewise, Water Towers might be viewed as little more than a conservative and perhaps dated record of a series of industrial structures. However, in examining both works simultaneously, we can access a broader context of artistic technique and social commentary made available by the Düsseldorf School of Photography. The work of Bernd and Hilla Becher and Andreas Gursky, in addition to other members of the school, including Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, Candida Höfer, and Axel Hütte, illustrates how artists can use shared characteristics of a movement to create work with different aesthetics, processes, and messages offering us even greater insight into the age.
Bibliography
1 Emma Lewis, “Summary,” Tate, March 2014, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bernd-becher-and-hilla-becher-water-towers-p81238.
2 “About this Artwork,” The Broad, https://www.thebroad.org/art/andreas-gursky/99-cent (accessed February 11, 2024).
3 Wikipedia contributors, "99 Cent (photograph)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=99_Cent_(photograph)&oldid=1193990897 (accessed February 11, 2024).
4 Stefan Gronert, The Düsseldorf School of Photography, (2017; repr., Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 2009), 20.
5 Contacts: Becher, directed by Sarah Moon and Roger Ikhlef (Arte France Dévelopment, 2004), https://archive.org/details/contactps/DVD-3/Becher.mp4.
6 Contacts: Gursky, directed by Sarah Moon and Roger Ikhlef (Arte France Dévelopment, 2004), https://archive.org/details/contactps/DVD-2/Gursky.mp4.
7 Contacts: Becher, Moon and Ikhlef.
8 Lewis, “Summary.”
9 Contacts: Becher, Moon and Ikhlef.
10 Contacts: Becher, Moon and Ikhlef.
11 Contacts: Gursky, Moon and Ikhlef.
The Culture Industry
A critical response to Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer’s The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception.
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In The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer claim the culture industry eradicates autonomous thinking and preserves the reigning system of capitalism. To support their assertion, Adorno and Horkheimer present the example of radio. Everyone is a listener, with the programming provided in an authoritarian fashion by the stations. While an assortment of stations gives the illusion of choice, there is no significant variety in programming and no means of dialogue or reply. Private transmissions are designated as “amateur” and are organized by a superior controlling body. Creativity in listeners is channeled by talent scouts, competitions, and events into inflexible, unchanging, and simplistic art forms. Nothing is produced that challenges the status quo. The public accepts the monopoly, the social control, and the limitations on self-expression, thereby reinforcing a system that favors the wealthy who control the stations and culture industry. “What is not mentioned is that the basis on which technology is gaining power over society is the power of those whose economic position in society is strongest. Technical rationality today is the rationality of domination. (95)” The answer, Adorno and Horkheimer proposed, is to be found in “pure” art, which exists outside of the culture industry and is created by artists functioning as individuals with the capacity to call attention to societal contradictions.
Specific Objects
A critical response to Donald Judd’s essay, Specific Objects.
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In his essay, Specific Objects, Donald Judd asserts that the new three-dimensional work presents a more powerful, unitary form by addressing the inherent limitations of painting. According to Judd, painting requires that subject matter be placed within the bounds of a rectangular plane with color, line, and space used to create the illusion of depth according to European tradition and the constraints of oil and canvas. However, real three-dimensional space eliminates the need for these illusions, thereby allowing artists to create work with a more effective, unified form. As stated by Judd, “In the three-dimensional work the whole thing is made according to complex purposes, and these are not scattered but asserted by one form. It isn’t necessary for a work to have a lot of things to look at, to compare, to analyze one by one, to contemplate. The thing as a whole, its quality as a whole, is what is interesting. The main things are alone and are more intense, clear, and powerful. They are not diluted by an inherited format, variations of a form, mild contrasts and connecting parts and areas. (184-187)” No longer forced to adhere to traditional circumscribed forms, the three-dimensional works combine elements such as color, space, and materials to create new streamlined forms of art with greater power and intensity.