At the turn of the century, Edward Steichen bragged to Alfred Stieglitz that his proudest moment as a photographer was having a tariff agent mistake his photographs for drawings when he returned from a trip to Europe allowing him to avoid paying an import tax.
It seems that we have come full circle. I have no idea why these images exist as photographs; it would surely have been easier to make them with ink, and non-photographic paper has a much sexier surface. But it seems that pictures of nothing are all the rage, and black spots can be useful in setting the mood in an upscale living room.
Yossi Milo Gallery (525 W 25th St. Btw. 10th & 11th Aves.) through Oct. 30th
3 comments:
Upscale living room is exactly what I'm thinking of... when did Chelsea become the best place to find work that goes with the couch? Hmmm, I'll stick with getting my inspiration from accidental and naive flickr photos... at least there's still a sense of wonder for the process. Sort of makes me wish the galleries could go find some people who still believe in the magic.
I think maybe these images exist as photographs for the same reasons that any new type of photography ever sprung up in the past - artists didn't feel constricted to stay within the box of the present norms. In this case, the artist wanted black spots which may mean nothing to some, and could have been made with another medium (drawings), to be the center of his photographic content. You say it may be useful in setting the mood in an upscale living room, but the mood that the piece sets is dependent on who is looking at it. Some may see this photograph and think cheap piece at an office hallway.
Okay I'll take that
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