Abstract Photograph

source: circuitgallery

Akihiko Miyoshi
b. 1974, Japan

Short Bio
Born in Japan, Akihiko Miyoshi received a MFA in photography in 2005 from the Rochester Institute of Technology after taking a leave of absence as a PhD student in computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University to pursue art. Miyoshi is an Associate Professor of photography and digital media at Reed College. His works explores the intersection between art and technology most frequently dealing with issues surrounding photographic representation. His work has been exhibited widely including Portland, New York, Los Angeles, Rochester, Pittsburgh, and Toronto. He was named the International Award Winner of Fellowship 12 at The Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh PA. Miyoshi received a Hallie Ford Fellowship in 2012.
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source: circuitgallery

Abstract Photograph (110111c)
Photography; Inkjet print, 2011

Throughout my career I have been exploring the intersection between art and technology most frequently dealing with issues surrounding photographic representation. My works often reveal the conventions of perception and representation through tensions created by the use of computers and traditional photographic techniques.

The photographs included here are of mirrors, paper and tape often adhered to the surface of the mirror taken with a large format camera as they attempt to unpack the structural mechanics of photographic representation.

While the images allude to formal abstraction with various shapes and colors, the photographic nature of the images are emphasized as the image plane is selectively focused and blurred through the use of depth of field. The usually referencelessness nature of abstraction is contradicted by the presence of minute details captured by the use of a large format camera such as dust and scratch marks found on the surface of the mirror or the texture of the tapes used which makes the images photographically real and almost sculptural. These images have a duality (and tension) of being simultaneously abstract and photographically real.

Further, as with many of my other works the photographs expresses my interest in the effect of digital technology in photography and its aesthetic. For example the choice of red, green, and blue tape is based on the three primary colors that constitute a pixel. From a far the tapes can be seen as the pixels glowing on the computer screen. While the images are made using primarily traditional photographic methods, they reference the new aesthetic that seems to be emerging as a result of the use of digital tools and technologies. Seen in this context, by always including only the silhouette of the photographer with his camera, the images remind the viewers of the presence/absence of the producer/author and the method in which the images were constructed and bring forth the complex issues regarding authorship in the digital world.
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source: itsnicethat

Let’s all give a round of applause to Akihiko for ditching any software trickery and making these fantastic images with only some coloured paper, glue and a mirror (and what looks like quite an expensive antique camera). Commenting on how technology and over-editing can create a sort of tension in photographs, Akihiko is on a journey to prove that all you need to make a beautiful image is your bare hands and some craft supplies. Using mostly red, green and blue tape to as they are “the three primary colors that constitute a pixel,” Akihiko edits only the mirror in front of him before posing for this selection of truly fantastic self-portraits. Pretty inspirational stuff.
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source: fantasticocotidiano

Akihiko Miyoshi es un artista conceptual ex ingeniero informático que trabaja con la fotografía como medio de expresión actualmente. Akihiko Miyoshi compagina tanto los medios tradicionales como la tecnología de vanguardia explorando la intersección entre el arte y la tecnología.
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source: lomography

Akihiko Miyoshi, um professor universitário de fotografia, experimenta tirar auto-retratos com espelhos, papel coloridos e fita-cola, e uma câmera de grande formato. Continuem a ler para verem os resultados coloridos!

Ao longo da sua carreira, o professor Akihiko Miyoshi da Universidade Reed tem continuamente vindo a tentar explorar as intersecções entre a arte e a tecnologia no seu trabalho.

Numa série de auto-retratos intitutlada de Abstract Photographs, Miyoshi usa espelhos, papel, fita-cola e uma câmera de grande formato para criar imagens que são focadas e desfocadas seletivamente para se justaporem ao seu reflexo. Isto dá a sensação de ser simultaneamente abstrato e real.

“Os meus trabalhos revelam as convenções da percepção e da representação através de tensões criadas pelo uso de computadores e técnicas fotográficas tradicionais” – A. Miyoshi