Kohsuke Kimura (1982 - )

 

Kimura has an extensive background in the arts, having studied architecture in his undergraduate years, and photography as his graduate program.

His works seem to stem from this expertise along with a personal interest of his: nature.

Kimura has spent countless hours exploring the wilderness and hiking mountains, mesmerized by her beauty. His early works consisted of a full 360 degree panorama image of the immense landscape that stretched out over the summit. He would attempt to capture the sheer grandness and beauty of the moment by shifting his camera at slight angles until he was able to obtain a full 360 degrees of the view.

 

In 2015, however, as Kimura moved from Japan to Germany, his work began to display notable changes. The German architecture, both of residential buildings as well as of historical structures was very impressionable. Over the course of 2 years, Kimura captured images of everything that he felt an emotional connection to, but the architecture of older catholic churches stood out to him the most.

 

Kimura states that “vision” or the “act of seeing” is something that intrigues him. He realized that when humans “see” there may be a difference between the image projected onto the retina and what the brain makes of the visual stimulation. He believes that it is an artist’s duty to capture such differences in “vision”, encapsulating a singular moment in stillness, in his personal vision. Henri Matisse once said that “[t]o see is itself a creative operation, requiring an effort”. Seeing, and then the pursuit of somehow expressing that vision is a foundation for Kimura’s work.

 

A fundamental aspect of Kimura’s work is the utilization of the unique characteristic of his medium, the camera, and then to express his vision in three-dimensions; rather than presenting his photography as standard two-dimensional prints, he uses these prints to create a “form”. The process involves printing his photography onto Kent paper, cutting the image into horizontal and vertical strips, and then weaving them together to “re-shape” the original image. What is expressed through this merging of photography and the plastic arts is something that cannot be done with a mere two-dimensional image. The physical manipulation of the images by weaving the various strips of photography together is what creates shadows and a depth of field that the the image itself cannot do alone.

 

The width of the strips that Kimura cuts his prints into differs depending on the piece, but some can get as thin as 5mm. It’s the meticulous weaving and accurate placement of those strips that bring about the most subtle nuances of expression.

 

One of the most expressive techniques of photographic art is the photomontage, as evidenced by both Man Ray and Moholy-Nagy in the 1920s and 1930s. The similarity between the works of both of these artists and Kimura is their use of modification, more specifically, the layering of images within one composition; the unique effects of their modifications convey is something that cannot be expressed through unmodified, standard photography. This might be analogous to the effect that Picasso and Braque had on Cubism. They allowed for the viewers to see something entirely new: the serene impression of viewing a subject’s appearance from various perspectives. The most notable characteristic amongst Kimura’s work is the series of straight lines and angular configuration. Adding these vividly geometrical elements to the subjects’ contours birth an entirely new perception. It is the amalgamation of varying perspectives on one surface that allows the viewers to almost “see” a movement - the natural continuity of time.

 

Light and shadows, movement and stillness, warmth and coldness.

Different elements converge to expand. From the three-dimensional to the two-dimensional, this eventually expands back into the three-dimensional.

The modifications and alteration to the physical prints of the photos transforms the subject of the image itself; the viewer is invited to see a fused perception, which captures an almost fluid motion of geometric shapes and the nuances of light and shadows. Kimura’s works are not merely photographic images; they are photos, paintings and sculptures all at the same time.