S.H.Contemporary by SETH HIGH

Sam Soox

Though 'based' in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, it is more likely that Soox is currently hiking in the Cascade mountain range or aboard an international flight. As a photographer and writer of experimental fiction, Soox believes that an individual's creative endeavors should never be premeditated. He photographs and writes what interests him at any given moment, later tying it together into a story or exhibition. Many of his works are done in collaboration with editors, curators, psychologists and social scientists.

Exhibition: Windows

'Windows' is a new collaboration by Sam Soox and S.H.Contemporary. It features 70 framed photographs of 'windows' taken in Japan during Soox's recent 6-month residency at Kanto Art University. As with all of the artist's publications and exhibitions, Soox merely turned over his digital image data to the gallery, which selected the theme and pictures. The impetus for 'Windows' was a conversation between Seth High and Sam Soox about the artist's life-long attraction to windows. Soox's text, '50 Reasons Why I Love Windows' is a crucial part of the work itself.

Like the majority of Sam Soox's photographic work, the images of 'Windows' often attempt to explore the ways in which people engage with the natural world. Believing that pictures must simultaneously have 'social and aesthetic appeal', Soox also takes great care when composing his photographs - Critic Melissa Xu has gone as far as to call them 'social minimalism'. The works will be on view at S.H.Contemporary in Tokyo from July 7th through August 14th. Archival prints will be available in editions of 5. Contact the gallery for further information.

Featured Exhibition: The Windows of Sam Soox

Over a cup of coffee, I casually mentioned to Sam Soox that I noticed he took a lot of pictures of windows. He laughed and answered, "Well, I photograph a lot of everything." After a few silent sips, he continued, "Yeah, I really do like windows. I guess I naturally gravitate to them." After talking about their compositional qualities and a bit about architecture, Sam commented, "You know, I could probably go on forever about windows." To my great surprise, I received an email from him the very next day titled, '50 Reasons I am Interested in Windows'. Within a week we began to plan a show. -S.H.

50 Reasons I am Interested in Windows by Sam Soox

Windows allow me to experience the outside from the inside.
Most windows are rectangular and the rectangle is a nice shape. Circles are fine, but my own eyes don't see a circle when I look out around me. I like to believe that I view the world through a rectangular window with soft edges.
Even though I'm a Mac user, I must admit that 'Windows' is a great name for an operating system. If you type 'windows' into Google, the top 8 results all relate to the OS. Eventually, we may have to say 'framed glass in the wall' if we want to convey a physical window.
When I'm photographing in low-light situations and don't have a tripod, I can use a window to brace my camera by putting the lens flush against the glass.
I asked my friend Johannes what he would do if there were no windows. He instantly replied, 'I'd punch a fucking hole through the wall.'
Windows have contributed greatly to music. Leonard Cohen wrote a song titled 'The Window'. Band Of Horses play 'Window Blues', Townes Van Zandt sang 'At My Window', Christopher Cross sings 'Open Up My Window', and of course where we would we be without Jimi Hendrix's 'Belly Button Window'.
I imagine a city of buildings without windows. Viewed from above, it looks like an architect's paper model. I like the image but I don't want to live there.
Without windows there would be no windowsills, and windowsills are perfect for miniature cacti.
No matter how often I fly, I never get tired of window seats. Though flight attendants often remind me not to take photographs (use 'digital devices') until the plane is at cruising altitude, I disobey them by hunching down in my seat and photographing from near the base of my window.
The fact that prisons use solitary confinement as a punishment proves that windows are a privilege, not a right.
Not to contradict the previous point, but I spent my formative years covering up windows to make my room into a darkroom. Filling in a window with cardboard allowed me to become familiar with its shape.
I have always loved idioms and there are a handful of idiomatic expressions that involve 'windows'. In addition to 'windows of possibility' (a perfect description of photography!), window-based idioms include 'window dressing', 'window shopping', 'you make a better door than window', and 'out the window'. Which came first, language or windows?
I have many good memories of scraping frost off car windows with a credit card (proper ice scrapers make the job too easy). I like the sound as well as the feeling that I get from accomplishing something with manual labour. However, what I like best is 'creating' a new window with rapid strokes of my hand.
Windows allow for great shootout scenes in Westerns.
When accusing a student of dishonesty, my hippie history teacher once quoted Immanuel Kant, "Eyes are the windows to the soul, and I and can tell by looking at yours that you are lying."
Despite the fact that it is dangerous to stand near windows during storms or earthquakes, they always make me feel safe.
The word 'window' was brought to England by the Norse vikings. Originally pronounced 'Vindauga', it literally meant 'eye of wind', because windows of course didn't have glass until a few centuries ago. They used to literally be 'an eye of wind'.
Recent computers allow a user to simultaneously open multiple windows. Having grown up in the era of single windows, I appreciate this.
Windows let us know what's out there.
When I worked on the 45th floor of an office building, it was my responsibility to open the window blinds each morning. Just by a simple twist of my wrist, my day improved as the city revealed itself and the office became flooded with light.
Some windows are bulletproof or made of plexiglas, but many others are just holes of nothing - space filled with air. I like them all.
Looking out of windows and looking into windows are opposing acts that represent different moral values. One involves expanding perspective while the other is usually interpreted as an invasion of privacy.
Windows give us natural light or at least show us how much light we have to work with.
Though often overused by photographers, reflections off glass windows can be both visually and intellectually stimulating. In particular, Lee Friedlander is a master at using windows. Window reflections also allowed me to stealthily spy on cute girls when I commuted by subway in college.
Though they are approximately the same shape, windows are usually much more interesting than paintings. Most museums have few windows because they know they can't compete.
'Window' contains nice words such as 'wind', and 'wow'. It also contains 'win', which is too competitive for my taste, and 'widow', which I associate with poisonous spiders.
With their flat screens and high definition images, TVs are looking more and more like windows. At the same time, modern windows are looking more and more live TVs.
Whenever I find myself on the opposite side of a window from my younger brother, he inevitably puts his mouth up against the glass and blows with all his might, instantly transforming his face into a parachute or exotic fish. Fortunately, he is not deterred by dirty windows or the fact that he is now a middle-aged adult.
Windows allow us to compare and contrast the inside and outside worlds. It's great seeing both at the same time.
Water drips and snowflakes become performance artists on a window pane. Similarly, fog, scratches and colored tinting can create some great visual effects.
As I child, I kicked a soccer ball through a window at my school. I don't remember if it was a purposeful act or not, but the crashing sound was definitely exhilarating.
Windows and their rectangularity make it easy to frame and center objects within a photograph.
Most windows can be opened to let in fresh air - sometimes yummy mountain air.
Windows are mysterious. As we walk closer toward a window, expectation grows, especially when the window is the only thing that lights the room or hallway.
When doing indoor photography, strategically placing windows in the frame allows a person to photograph at a higher shutter speed.
As a teenager, I would put on a scary plastic mask and crawl through the shrubs until I was just below the window line of a family restaurant. I would then suddenly pop up and scare the people eating in their window-side booths. I will always remember the screams.
Reminding me of a guillotine, hanging windows have a quiet violence that enhances their architectural power.
Windows allow for some amazing silhouettes, especially at night.
Whenever I see a truck carrying a load of windows, I find myself imagining what the scene would be like if it crashed.
Windows make things important by framing and isolating them. In new contexts, objects become strange and exciting. Using windows to creatively frame objects can be effectively done from both inside and outside.
Having an architecture buff for a father, I was taught to identify dormer, bay and hanging windows before I turned 8 years old. Unfortunately, I think that I now have them all confused.
I still remember being saddened when I first heard that birds often fly into non-reflective windows. What kind of person is anti-reflection?
Windows heal claustrophobia and provide us with healthy natural sunlight. As if this isn't enough, some also cut harmful UV rays.
Windows can be used as mirrors.
Looking at a block of apartments from the outside, it is only the windows that give away the diversity and uniqueness of it's inhabitants.
In high school, my brother flew through the windscreen of a car during a violent middle-of-the night accident. He proceeded to walk home, jump onto the roof our garage and enter the house through my bedroom window. Not only did he make unconventional window exits and entrances in the same night, he literally wore the glass of the car window in his face and hands. Memories!
Windows have nothing to hide.
After viewing the 'window' paintings of Richard Diebenkorn and Henri Matisse during university, I spent several years attempting my own window paintings.
The Dukes of Hazard - When feeling the need to quickly evade Boss Hog and Roscoe, Bo and Luke Duke entered the General Lee through its windows, rather than its doors. This impressed me as a child and perhaps steered me towards less-traveled paths.
I never fail to be impressed by old-school rope and bucket window washers.