Hiroshima Peace Memorial Possibly 1953 - 2020

Curator: This gelatin silver print, titled *Hiroshima Peace Memorial*, attributed to Tsuneko Sasamoto, possibly spanning from 1953 to 2020, is certainly impactful. Editor: Absolutely. The monochrome palette really emphasizes the ruined architecture looming behind what appears to be a field of memorials. What draws your eye, as you contemplate the formal elements of this photographic landscape? Curator: The artist’s masterful manipulation of light and shadow immediately commands attention. Notice how the tonality isn't simply grey, black, and white, but uses the full spectrum of intermediate values to create textures of both sky and ruin. These, in turn, highlight and flatten form; the image becomes as much about contrast between light and shadow as it is about content and representation. The perspective compresses space; do you perceive that creating a particular sensation or feeling? Editor: Yes, the compression definitely enhances the feeling of being overwhelmed, like the disaster is still palpable, still very much present in that space. It removes the separation between past and present. How does the medium – photography – contribute to its affect? Curator: Photography brings an indexical realness to the representation. The formal qualities that emerge, the grain, the silver gelatin's capacity for subtle tonalities and sharp resolution all contribute to the sense of immediacy and reality, yet it is presented as something abstract, the grey color contributing a patina of the past to something happening "now". Do you find a connection to the sculpture within? Editor: That is helpful. Now that you point it out, I recognize how its abstract form and geometric presentation within a landscape allow it to exist outside of a specific timeframe or political association. Thank you, I’m starting to view it from an exciting and valuable angle. Curator: Indeed, examining the form allows us another dimension through which to approach these challenging yet necessary subjects.