Sea of Buddha is a series of 49 photographs depicting 1,001 Buddhist statues at a temple commonly known as Sanjūsangendō (Hall of Thirty-three Bays) in Kyoto. In this work, Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto captures the statues as religious icons and embodiments of time, memory, and transcendence. Sugimoto views the collective presence of these seemingly identical figures as a form of “conceptual art” from 12th-century Japan
The statues are Bodhisattva, specifically the thousand-armed Kannon—a Japanese term for the Sanskrit Avalokiteshvara, which literally means “sound-perceiver” of the cries of all sentient beings. The statues were originally commissioned by the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa in 1164, a time viewed as the era of mappō, or the decline of Buddha’s teachings. Social elites of this era endorsed building temples and statues in the quest for saviors. Sanjūsangendō’s uniqueness is a visual manifestation of the omnipotence of Kannon across time through this collection of life-size unique wooden sculptures arranged along a narrow, 394-foot-long wall—a true architectural and artistic anomaly. At the center is a large, seated Kannon made by the sculptor Tankei of the Kei school, a notable lineage of Buddhist sculptors of medieval Japan.
After seven years of rigorous negotiations, Sugimoto finally received permission to photograph the statues in 1995. As an artist known for mastery of light, he spent 10 consecutive days capturing images of the gilded statues as they faced east, momentarily and subtly illuminated by the rising sun. By removing all adornments and lighting added since the late medieval period, Sugimoto recreated how the statues might have originally been experienced, conjuring a vision of a Buddhist paradise. His compositions, which are framed from above eye level, enhance the otherworldly effect. The photographs convey a sense of timelessness and the vastness of both spiritual and philosophical wisdom. Sugimoto has the grandeur of the seated Kannon in three large gelatin silver prints assembled—thus titled triptych—along with a hand-crafted wooden frame.
Based in New York and Tokyo, Sugimoto works in photography and architecture. In 1970, after graduating from Rikkyō University in Tokyo, he moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in ArtCenter College of Design, where he learned to make a photograph that was “perfectly crafted and exquisitely printed.” He devoured the writings and recipes of Ansel Adams, who had taught at ArtCenter in the late 1930s, educating himself in the mechanics and artistry of photography. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Sugimoto moved to New York in 1974 where he opened an antique store and became an expert in Asian antiquities.
Sugimoto’s work can best be described as an expression of “time exposed.” Different from photographers who capture a split second, Sugimoto uses an 8 × 10 large-format camera and extremely long exposures to create conceptual works that embody an extended period and are naturally contemplative. His series Seascapes (1980– ), for example, is made by exposing the film for up to three hours, embedding that time in the image. Sugimoto’s interest in the dichotomy between life and death is reflected in his series Dioramas (1976– ), made at Natural History Museums across the world, in which the taxidermied animals appear alive. Sea of Buddha is an exquisite culmination of ideas expressed in his earlier work. This monumental photograph skillfully unites a sense of infinity with the concept of salvation, further exploring the tenuous line between life and death.
During our 39th annual Collectors Committee Weekend (April 26–27, 2025), members of LACMA's Collectors Committee generously helped the museum acquire six works of art spanning a breadth of eras and cultures. Read more about all the acquisitions.