http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/john-stezaker
..John Stezaker, who is not a photographer but who made the best contribution to photography in Europe through a body of work in exhibition or publication format between 1st October 2010 and 30th September 2011. Stezaker’s entry was his exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery from January – March 2011, which I remember as being extremely challenging primarily because the source images were not taken by Stezaker.
On the criteria given by the Deutsche Borse awards body the winner was undoubtedly a strong contender amongst the four finalists, and will certainly raise much debate and discussion in the photographic community. I can predict the outrage and disgust from the amateur, enthusiast, and general public who will say as I did last year “but he’s not a photographer”, and while that may be so, he is an artist, and uses photographs as his media, and has produced several exceptionally creative and thought provoking pieces.
His images cannot be read on a passing glance, but a few moments contemplation reveals much. One set of four images shows suited men in similar lighting and pose, with handkerchief’s tucked into a breast pocket, cropped by being cut through their mouths, a brutal act. Each figure is wearing a watch and the time of the photo can be read by the viewer. The images are disturbing although I can’t articulate why, and the fact of the unknown original authorship is somehow unsettling, as if I expect a photograph to fit within the boundaries of my comprehension, and not cut into something deep in my subconscious.
A few of the exhibits have a title and thus provide a clue as to his intention, or perhaps this is another subliminal device to confuse on the surface but reach down into the soul. “Siren” for example shows background photos of large breasted females reclining seductively, and overlaid with a variety of postcards showing crashing waves, rivers, coastal scenes, with the suggestion that the call of the idylic scenes leads us to seductive women, or that perhaps we are seduced by both flesh and beautiful places but both are an illusion and by combining the siren calls we want both but only have a small paper image to look at.
Stezaker’s is very much an ongoing development. When he cuts and pastes the original images are lost, but he then stores the new image, and searches for copies of the same images on eBay so that he again has source material, for what new purpose he may reveal.
During a tour of the DB exhibition in the Photographer’s Gallery the curator, Stefanie Braun (a formidable lady who demanded that other visitors be quiet) stated that Stezaker retained one of his found images in a frame on his desk for several years, positioned sideways, which changed the original’s intent, added a new dimension, and gifted it the label of “art”, and this raises another interesting point as to “what is art”? Braun is a curator and thus she can be seen as a validator, authenticator, of what is art, thus closing that debate.
Stezaker grows in stature following this award but remains a controversial figure. Within the DB show the other conceptual artist was Christopher Williams, who showed only three pieces which I understand may have been commissioned as is standard artistic practice, but may again upset a few “photographers”. The photos are bland but are used almost only as an illustration of his ideas, which are challenging to a naive understanding of what constitutes “art” or “photograph”. The content of his photos requires a lot of thought and consideration, and may only be intended as a starting point for taking his concepts in innovation new directions.
Where William’s images are bland, Rinko Kawauchi adds the removal of a technical standard to produce images that seem to be candidtes for “the world’s worst photograph”, but again, they’re short listed for a major prize set in a major gallery therefore we must agree that this is “art”. Without having had some guidance from Braun my initial view was one of total incomprehension, but having then re-visited with insights into what I was looking at, some meaning started to form. Kawauchi presents quite pastel, over-exposed, girly? images, with content that then surprises with its gruesome nature, such as eyeballs, and death. Her work is dreamlike to the verge of nightmare, and again stirred up something disturbing and unresolved in my soul. Kawauchi also showed a small video panel with similar images that moved only slightly so that one was initially unaware that this was a video. The Gallery built a false wall for this set so that the video screen could be presented on the same scale as the surrounding photographs.
Braun suggested that Kawauchi’s work is usually executed with the intention of producing a photobook, and she has later taken additional shots to fill in gaps where required, which illustrates the current pragmatism of the contemporary artist in both the creative and commercial processes.
The fourth finalist was Pieter Hugo for his work in documenting slum-dwellers scavenging in a toxic waste dump outside Accra. This was quite revealing social documentary but in this company it was perhaps too obvious and unchallenging. One can see the horror of the events, backed up with a trio of monitors piled on the floor showing the deadpan subjects looking into the camera while the toxic smoke drifted by and into their lungs. It is an impressive body of work but I thought it was limited in being factual, accessible, and to the point. Hugo is a obviously a good photographer, but I am surprised that he was a finalist in this event. Perhaps he was there to placate those who may have thought this was a photography competition in a bald “good photo” sense. Fortunately there are many other competitions where “nice photos” can be judged, but congratulations are again due to the Deutsche Borse and the Photographer’s Gallery for bringing this remarkable and challenging event together.
People and Place 