Southland brings us images of modest suburban landscapes from central and inland California. Moore renders these banal structures and panoramas in highly formalized compositions, implying in the viewer's mind a contrast between the inherent beauty of the natural environment versus the bland utility of the ubiquitous buildings constructed in the post-WWII suburban boom that swept the nation (and particularly the west).
Happy Kids Nutrition, Fullerton, California. 2006
from the series Southland
© Brad Moore
Moore's photographs in Southland also show the continued influence of the New Topographics movement of the 1970s, with particular nods to Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz and Stephen Shore, and their documentation of the everyday structures and evolving landscapes of the emergent suburban expansion in the western U.S. at the time -- and which is obviously still continuously spiraling outward to this day (hello Dallas, Phoenix, etc.). And one might even see a little bit of Ed Ruscha at play here too in examining the vernacular landscape in California. Although Ruscha was not officially part of the New Topographics, his conceptual, thematic artist books such as Twentysix Gasoline Stations or Thirtyfour Parking Lots would seem to carry influence through those artists and up into contemporary practice today.
However, where Moore's Southland makes its decisive mark next to those works is that while Ruscha, the New Topographics, et. al., basically photographed the American expansion through the landscape (and especially near the coastal areas of California) during decades of post-war economic boom, Moore brings us images of a certain opposite: not just that we are seeing modest suburbs from inland instead of coastal California, but more importantly to note is that these areas are struggling and stagnating economically while the coastal areas (especially in SoCal) remain somewhat flourishing by comparison.
There is an abundance of recent data showing that nationwide, suburban areas (particularly far-away exurbs) are facing vastly increased poverty and financial strain almost greater that cities and urban areas. So for me, what results from Southland is not only an anecdotal illustration of the larger American financial struggle of the day, but also -- I would purport -- calling into question the assumptions about sustainability of suburban sprawl both in terms of material resources and also future economic stability.
Trini Circle, Westminster, California. 2009
from the series Southland
© Brad Moore
Southland
photographs by Brad Moore
opening Thursday 7 June, 6-9pm
Klompching Gallery
111 Front St., suite 206, Brooklyn, NY
Also tonite in NYC, Clic Gallery opens Between Dog & Wolf, a collection of new polaroids by Mikael Kennedy. The series takes its title from the phrase "the hour between dog and wolf", a direct translation of a French aphorism referring to the time of day following sunset that most photographers call "magic hour" or "golden hour" -- and is, indeed, a beautiful time to make images (one of my personal favorites).
November 6, 2011
© Mikael Kennedy
Kennedy's polaroids, mostly rendered in warm hues of ochres, oranges, yellows and reds common of the late day light, make an interesting parallel between the transition between day and night as well as contrasting the domestic and the wild -- in a sense where the latter becomes partly autobiographical of the artist (and probably a stage in life that we can all identify with experiencing to whatever extent).
A further selection of Kennedy's polaroids can be seen on his blog Passport to Tresspass.
March 10, 2010
© Mikael Kennedy
Between Dog & Wolf
photographs by Mikael Kennedy
opening Thursday 7 June, 6-8pm
Clic Gallery
255 Centre St., NY NY
And in Portland tonite, Blue Sky Gallery premieres photographs by Dorothee Deiss from her project As If Nothing Happened, a series of which I am a very big fan. Her project explores the remnants of the Berlin Wall, now merely a cleared strip of hollow land of which most can nowadays be traversed via a simple group of bike paths. In 2007-2008 Deiss rode back and forth along the path and photographed scenes and people she encountered there.
from the series As If Nothing Happened
© Dorothee Deiss
What results is an interesting study of not only the people who live along this stretch and their implied narratives, but also the interplay between history and memory, and where psychology and subjectivity enter and complicate that already-complex dynamic.
I wrote a bit here about Deiss' project a few years ago so I won't be redundant about it and babble on in this post, but be sure to read the earlier entry for more background on As If Nothing Happened.
from the series As If Nothing Happened
© Dorothee Deiss
As If Nothing Happened
photographs by Dorothee Deiss
opening Thursday 7 June, 6-9pm
Blue Sky Gallery
122 NW 8th Ave., Portland
