Klett and Wolfe - Subverting Nostalgia and Kitsch

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe, 2008. Reconstructing the view from the El Tovar to Yavapai Point using nineteen postcards.

Still thinking about last week’s conversations at the inaugural window opening, I’m prompted to post a few excerpts from the introductory essay written for the monograph that catalogues Klett and Wolfe’s project, Reconstructing the View.  In the essay, exhibition curator Rebecca Senf thoughtfully picks apart both the process and content of the work (and the direct relationship between the two) and also incorporates comments from the artists themselves.

There can be a sort of immediate response to work that repurposes the types of images that are used within the Klett and Wolfe montage currently on display at window (click HERE to view), especially for those unfamiliar with the pair’s prior and/or related work.  Indeed, the first associations that come forth might lead one to quickly assume the purpose of the image (and of its construction) is simply to playfully juxtapose colorful “retro” style images to re-create a beautiful landscape.  These aesthetic qualities surely play a role in the construction of meaning, but only when the process of questioning begins can the viewer see underneath this surface and begin to engage with a secondary set of concerns.

Below I’ve included a few excerpts from Senf’s essay that I think may help illuminate the work more broadly, and perhaps provide a richer understanding of the image currently on view at window.

Excerpts from Reconstructing the View

“A key component of Klett and Wolfe’s rephotographic framework is its subversive intent:  rather than reflecting a nostalgic interest, the historic images allowed the artists to question assumptions about the past, and, in so doing, to challenge generally held perceptions about the present and the future.” (Senf 18)

“For Klett and Wolfe, there is an important connection between this subversive intent and the fun they have in their working process.  Klett has described the link:  “I want to point out that part of this fun is in being subversive, I think we view our practice as the opposite of retro – that is, we’re not interested in historic images for nostalgic reasons, but because we view our practice as calling into question assumptions and established views about he past.  Ultimately this practice can cause one to question views of past, present, and future.  It’s a very activist result from a seemingly passive methodology.  This is important because my experience has been that repeat photography is associated with interest in the past or physical change, but we’ve become much less interested in the subject of physical change than in affecting how we perceive the subject.  The work is an exercise in visualization and examining expectations, and when it challenges what we expect to to see, we get excited.”  (Senf 40).

“The ‘El Tovar and Yavapai Point Postcard Mashup,’ (2008), features a range of postcards, made at different times and printed in various media, that are brought together and enlarged to call attention to their method of reproduction.  The work combines nineteen postcards, or portions thereof, to create a completely new collage of the view stretching from El Tovar Hotel to Yavapai Point, on the canyon’s South Rim…In most cases, the photographers decided to print works that incorporate postcards at roughly their original size, to preserve the feeling of the postcard as a familiar physical object…With the El Tovar and Yavapai Point postcard mashup, however, a large scale was imperative, for the work is about the postcard’s visual syntax, its language of representation.  Wolfe pointed out the kitschy draw of the exaggerated, amplified colors typical of postcards created in the first half of the twentieth century.  (He clarified that he does not use the term “kitschy” to denigrate the postcards but rather to describe their lasting and powerful appeal as collectible objects).  Enlarging the final work renders visible the various dot patterns of the original postcards’ reproductive processes, and the extreme palettes of maroon, bright orange, icy blue, and lemon yellow compete for dominance.”  (Senf 29, 30).

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).

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe - Inaugural Exhibition

The first paragraph of this post details the purpose of this blog and is re-posted for reference and clarity.

This project was born out of a certain amount of frustration with the false dichotomies imposed, at times, by current dialogue around contemporary modes of representation – primary among these modes are, of course, photo based practices.   The tenor of these discussions troubles me, as I’ve noted (what I feel) are unnecessarily defensive responses to inquiries related to process and material, the status of the object, issues of originality or authenticity, etc.  Rather than forming essentialist categories for analog or digital, or creating distinctions between “straight”, found or fabricated imagery, why not consider the very nature of representation and reproduction in an ontological manner that allows for a fluid consideration between these seemingly opposing areas?  Window aims to serve as a site for such discussion.

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe, Reconstructing the view from the El Tovar to Yavapai Point using nineteen postcards, 2008

The inaugural exhibition will be installed on March 1, 2013 and features the collaborative work of Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe.  The installation will include a modified version of their image, Reconstructing the view from the El Tovar to Yavapai Point using nineteen postcards, from 2008.  This work is included in the monograph that catalogs the results of their collaborative project, Reconstructing the View, which began in 2007 and continued through 2011.  The book is available directly from UC Press (direct link here) as well as fine book sellers such as PhotoEye (direct link here).  You can find out more about the works within this project by visiting their site, HERE, or by reading the press release on the window site, HERE.

This month, I’m asking for contributions in the form of direct responses to the work (in whole or in part), considerations of how the work is transformed in its various iterations (from the page of the book, to the gallery wall, to the modified version in the window space – installation views coming soon), personal responses related to the subject matter and its mode(s) of representation, short essays framing this project within the history of photography, etc. 

As this is an experimental venture, these responses can take various forms.  Texts can be directly entered as comments to this blog post, where further discussion can ensue.  Or, authors may send pieces directly to dawnroe@gmail.com and formed into a separate post, where a new thread of comments can occur.  All writers will be given full credit for any separate posts, but the option to remain anonymous remains as well.

Please feel free to forward this along, and join in the discussion at any time!