A desire to visit the age when an architectural artifact was new.  Strip 
away the  accumulations of time and see the architectural skyline as it 
was.  The picture is made to look like an old black and white 
photograph, which conditions our approach to it.  We see it also as an 
artifact of the past with the power to transport us there if we make the 
appropriate mental leap.  The signs of aging of the  photo are a cue to 
try and mentally overcome that aging in order to retrieve a
glimpse from the past.

But the process of exploring old photographs and breathing new life into 
them is the process the artist is engaged in as he reconstructs this 
postcard from history.  Old photographs provide the references for the 
buildings he models; old advertisements are used to reconstruct dated 
billboards.  Of course we are never actually fooled, we never actually 
believe we are seeing an old photograph. Instead we construct an idea of 
the old postcard the artist used as his source.  Instead we enjoy the 
peak over the artist's shoulder as he sifts photographs for lost 
evidence. We watch as he lovingly applies the patina of time within
his "record" and to his record.

-Jim

Post a reply to this message