Klett and Wolfe in the Window

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe, Installation View
(Professional Image to Follow)

There are many ways to begin thinking about the Klett and Wolfe piece that is currently installed in/at window.  In listening to and taking part in some of the conversations at the opening, I noticed a good variety of responses and was pleased to note that some of the questions that came forth were not easy to answer.  This is fantastic, as the purpose of this project is to promote dialogue and exchange – specifically in relation to contemporary artworks that engage with issues of representation and reproducibility as essential to the content of the work.  A good starting point for a discussion of any of the works in the space might be to simply question how the work on view relates to the above, and then, begin to think about why the artists made the choices they did (in terms of subject matter, mode of representation, manipulation of materials, etc.). 

In relation to the Klett and Wolfe piece, I’d like to mention a few things that seemed to be important to viewers.  First and foremost was the re-appropriation of antique postcards, which also relates to issues of authorship and originality.  This also prompted some to consider the retro/nostalgic associations that are sometimes attached to this kind of imagery.  Lastly, the primary image is a composite/montage created by grouping and relating numerous secondary images together – this makes the image somewhat distinct from a more straightforward photographic representation that describes one moment, from one vantage point.  A quick and cursory view of this work may yield a very different interpretation than a more prolonged engagement.  As well, the piece is entirely decontextualized from the pair’s larger body of work (on view inside the shop in the form of the monograph, Reconstructing the View), and is also an excerpt from a much larger piece containing a panoramic view.    

This project is meant to serve as public art, and I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the varying sets of knowledge that each participant will bring to this exchange.  We may not all share an understanding of the larger traditions of art history or contemporary critical theory, but we do all play a role in determining the cultural value of works of art.  But to do so, we must allow ourselves to thoughtfully engage in a process of questioning – of our own instinctive responses to art, our prior conceptions – and to continually re-assess our points of view.

So, with that, whether or not we are accustomed to discussing artists that re-appropriate vernacular photographs/images by including them in whole or in part within their own work, do we carry strong opinions about this one way or the other?  If so, where do those opinions come from?  And what about how the postcards are used in this work?  Is there a hierarchy at play within our minds that suggests a fabricated view is less significant than the depiction of a singular, straightforward representation? 

These are just a few initial little question/thoughts.  As always, please feel free to chime in via an authored or anonymous comment, or by starting a new thread by writing your own separate blog post (send those to dawnroe@gmail.com).