Let's explore three artists who observed the same subject from a 'fixed viewpoint' over several years: Paul Cézanne, Josef Sudek, and Ahae. We will look into how they created their work using this fixed perspective.
1. Paul Cézanne
Known as the 'Father of Modern Art', Paul Cézanne interpreted nature geometrically through still lifes, landscapes, and portraits. He explored the essence of subjects by repeatedly painting the same themes. In Cézanne's still lifes, you can see apples, tables, and bottles represented as geometric forms like spheres, cylinders, and triangles. Believing that geometric shapes possessed a fundamental beauty, he aimed to reveal the simple beauty hidden within nature. To express this, he repeatedly created works on the same subject from the same viewpoint.
Cézanne's innovative approach involved breaking away from traditional single-point perspective to incorporate multiple viewpoints within a single frame. In his paintings, you might notice that table lines don't connect, or plates and baskets appear to be viewed from different eye levels. This shows that Cézanne wasn't merely reproducing objects as they appeared; he continuously observed, deeply analyzed, and then reconstructed them.
While his earlier works captured diverse viewpoints in one painting, his later works increasingly featured more geometric, abstract compositions with an emphasis on planes of color, often from a fixed viewpoint.
Mont Sainte-Victoire in his paintings differs in appearance and color from how it looks in reality, reflecting the artist's subjective interpretation embedded in the work. Cézanne did not see objects merely as objective facts; he viewed and reinterpreted subjects through the 'mind's eye'. This perspective greatly influenced later Cubist painters, contributing to his title as the Father of Modern Art.
2. Josef Sudek
Next is Josef Sudek. Active in Prague, Sudek photographed the city's landscapes, architecture, and still lifes. His most famous series, 'The Window of My Studio', consists of photographs taken of his private garden through his studio window over a remarkable 16-year period (spanning several decades, including the WWII era).
During the time he worked on this, World War II plunged Europe into darkness. Sudek lived a reclusive life, viewing the outside world through the fixed frame of his window for many years. This series wasn't just a record of the view outside; it was a reflection of his inner world through the window.
Interestingly, Sudek often photographed with the window closed. The glass captured changes in seasons and weather; sometimes fogged over, streaked with rain, or coated with frost. These variations allow us to infer not just the simple view outside, but also the artist's psychological state and the circumstances of the era.
Furthermore, Sudek lost his right arm in World War I and lived with physical challenges resulting from his injuries. We can speculate whether the single, gnarled tree often seen in these photos might represent the artist himself.
Thus, Sudek's work went beyond simple documentation; it was a process of discovering infinite change within a limited viewpoint and internalizing it.
3. Ahae
Lastly, we have Ahae. Over five years, Ahae took 3.3 million photographs through a single window, completing his 'Through My Window' series.
Joseph Backstein, former commissioner of the Moscow Biennale, commented on Ahae's work:
“The expression of stability appears as the observer reproduces a fixed view of the world through photographs from one window. And the observer's perspective is transferred entirely into his head. This stability allows the viewer of the photograph to see the world as it is, with ontological certainty – that is, to see the unchanging essence of the world itself.”
In other words, by photographing nature from a fixed viewpoint, Ahae showed 'This is what nature is.'
Although his photographs were taken from a fixed viewpoint, they contain the free, living, and infinite aspects of nature. Even when looking from the same spot, one captures the constantly changing light, wind, and trees according to time and season, realizing through this that nature is alive and breathing.
Furthermore, unlike Cézanne and Sudek who reinterpreted their subjects in their own ways, Ahae did not reinterpret his subjects. He captured reality exactly as it was. He avoided using intermediaries like filters or window panes and excluded artificial elements, leaving no trace of the artist in the photographs.
By following the artist's perspective as we view his works, we, as Joseph Backstein suggested, come to see the world more essentially.
The three artists we looked at today all observed subjects from a fixed viewpoint over a long period, yet their methods of expression differed.
Paul Cézanne offered a new perspective by geometrically interpreting the hidden essence of objects through series focused on a single subject. Josef Sudek expressed personal experiences and emotions while viewing the world through his studio window. Ahae conveyed the infinite, ever-changing nature through one window.
Through the work of these three artists, we can see that a 'fixed viewpoint' is not merely static, but a way to deeply understand a constantly changing world. Why not try observing a single subject in your daily life over time and discover new things?
