LIGHTING CONTROL

The subject of light, either as a natural phenomenon or in a metaphysical or theatrical role, has

always been important in art. Primarily, it is the philosophical content of light that is important.

Expressions such as “to shine a light on something” indicate our desire to see an issue, or rather

understand and gain clarity over it. Similarly, when we find we have the capacity to see the full

truth of a matter we claim to “see the light”.

This is the exact focus of Daisuke Ogura’s attention. He sets out to “shine a light” on things,

to identify and grasp them. An interesting work in this respect is one of his collages, entitled The

Daily Fragment. Composed of photographs and drawings, it shows a billboard on a street

bearing the words that give this work its title. Normally drawings are considered the mother of all

art forms, as a drawing relates directly to an artist’s first idea, to the creative core of the work. A

drawing is the artist’s first shot, as it were. In this particular case, however, the reverse is true.

Daisuke Ogura’s drawing developed as an idea based on an installation consisting of a

corrugated red sign with the aforementioned inscription that is illuminated by a fluorescent strip-

light creating different areas of light and shadow. In a second step the artist photographed the

installation and used the image he produced as the basis for his drawing. In doing so, he

translated his 3D installation into a two-dimensional medium through a two-stage process. The

genesis of The Daily Fragment retraces the steps artists usually follow: their works stand in clear

relation to the world. They are inspired by reality – and yet rather than seeking to represent the

world itself, they convey a reflection upon it. So, what merely ‘seems to be’ and what really ‘is’?

What is fiction and what is reality? What is out in the light and what lies hidden in the shadows?

Indeed, are these shadows not cast by light itself?

This preoccupation with the essence of things is a recurring theme throughout the work of

Daisuke Ogura, the piece Color Density being just one example. Color Density consists of three

sheets of paper, each one with a square area of colour: red, blue or green. Beneath each square

of colour is a graphite stick of a different density and hardness (e.g. 2B, 4B at 6B). By

photographing these coloured works in black and white, Daisuke Ogura makes them appear

almost identical at first glance. But the graphite sticks reveal their different qualities: blue, green,

and red have different densities, meaning they absorb light to different degrees. This three-part

work has been created less for the eye and far more as a basis for spiritual analysis. Daisuke

Ogura wants the observer to look behind the surfaces of objects. By eliminating the effects of

colour on the retina, he reveals the “true” character of things, uncovering their inner structure,

their essence. This demonstrates how light allows us to view the world through our eyes – yet at

the same time it often obscures our understanding of it.

But Daisuke Ogura’s conceptual works do not explore only the question of how

circumstances and situations appear; they also highlight the capacity of identical things to look

different in a different light. One such work, entitled Arbeitsprozesse (Working Processes),

constantly changes. Daisuke Ogura created it by using a screen-printing material, which he then

treated with a chemical normally used in printing. The resulting fabric colour fluctuates between

brown and violet, depending on the intensity of the light that falls on it. In other words, light – be

it artificial or natural – causes a metamorphosis. Here Daisuke Ogura is emphasising the power

of light to shape things, things over which he himself has only limited influence. Controlled

coincidence of this kind is important to him because it lends his work a certain autonomy while at

the same time demonstrating that rather than being precisely planned, the artistic, creative

process has a dynamic of its own … just like life itself. In this way Daisuke Ogura draws

attention to the way his initial idea transforms as it moves towards the final work, either because

the material he is using forces its own will upon him or because technical processes restrict his

scope to act. Subject to countless external influences, the artist will always produce a work that

includes a degree of surprise. Daisuke Ogura highlights a point that is of great importance to

him, the point that art, like life itself, is controlled and led by dual forces: calculation and

coincidence, control and spontaneity, and autonomy and heteronomy stand in contrast to each

other throughout.

Marion von Schabrowsky

Art Historian