In celebration of CONTACT Photography Festival, we will be screening three documentaries, featuring the beauty of photography, architecture, light and the creative minds behind them. On May 23, we will explore this with the screening of two documentaries together, Memories of Origin: Hiroshi Sugimoto, followed by KOCHUU: Japanese Architecture/Influence and Origin. Then on June 4, we will screen a serene portrait of an artist in A Room of Her Own: Rei Naito and Light. Two of the films, Memories of Origin and A Room of Her Own were directed by Yuko Nakamura.   

Memories of Origin: HIROSHI SUGIMOTO

This documentary follows 200 days in life of the contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Hiroshi Sugimoto is a leading presence in the world of modern art. He has taken the medium of photography and perceiving it as a form of conceptual art,has extended the barriers of expression. He is the winner of many prestigious awards and his photographs are sold for millions of yen at overseas auctions.
The film shows the sites of the Architecture series shot in southern France, the huge installation art 17th Biennale of Sydney, his new work Mathematics at Provence, his art studio in New York while working on Lighting Fields, his recent direction and production of tradition Japanese performance art and so on. It thoroughly pursues the questions that Sugimoto’s works pose-

“living in modern times,what are these works trying to tell us?”

MEMORIES OF ORIGIN: Hiroshi Sugimoto was first broadcast on Japan’s program WOWOW on December, 2010. The Director’s Cut of this documentary was expanded from a TV program which was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Art in 2011.

Director: Yuko Nakamura
Year: 2011, Japan, 44 minutes

Cast: Hiroshi Sugimoto (Photographer/Contemporary Artist), Tadao Ando (Architect), Lee U-Fan (Contemporary Artist), Mansai Nomura (Kyogen Actor), Akira Asada (Critic)
Music: Keiichiro Shibuya

Production: TV Man Union, INC. / WOWOW, INC.
Producer: Yuko Nakamura / Hiroyuki Ohde / Hideyuki Furutani International Producer: Miyuki Fukuma

We will be screening director Yuko Nakamura’s other feature documentary A Room of Her Own: Rei Naito and Light on June 4, 2019. RSVP here > 

KOCHUU: Japanese Architecture/Influence and Origin

Nakagin Capsule Tower

KOCHUU is a visually stunning film about modern Japanese architecture, its roots in the Japanese tradition, and its impact on the Nordic building tradition. Winding its way through visions of the future and traditional concepts, nature and concrete, gardens and high-tech spaces, the film explains how contemporary Japanese architects strive to unite the ways of modern man with the old philosophies in astounding constructions.

KOCHUU, which translates as “in the jar,” refers to the Japanese tradition of constructing small, enclosed physical spaces, which create the impression of a separate universe. The film illustrates key components of traditional Japanese architecture, such as reducing the distinction between outdoors and indoors, disrupting the symmetrical, building with wooden posts and beams rather than with walls, modular construction techniques, and its symbiotic relationship with water, light and nature.

These concepts can be seen through remarkable views of the Imperial Katsura Palace, the Todai-Ji Temple, the Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, the Sony Tower, numerous teahouses and gardens.

Director: Jesper Wachtmeister
Year: 2006, Japan, 53 minutes