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Nudashank’s first guest curator Andrew Laumann has organized “[an] investigation into the stylistic variations and innovative processes of current contemporary photography.” Indeed there is not a theme connecting the works in the show; each artist is distinct. The title Day Glow seems to refer not to the brand name florescent pigments (that’s Dayglo) but rather to a light phenomenon that I am not knowledgeable enough to speak about.
I feel most equipped to respond to the works of Letha Wilson since they employ tactics familiar to me from the contemporary discourse of sculpture in order to make a departure from the perimeters of photography. Illusionism is pitted against the candid presentation of raw materials so that our attention is drawn to the artifice of the image. “Right Back At You” features a photo of a sunset mounted on the wall, while a Maglite flashlight propped up on a pedestal and a couple stones kicks the illusion of brilliance up to actual brilliance. “Double Dip” presents two tear-shaped structures of ply wood, mounted on the wall, their inside surface lined with photographs of lush plant life. “Partially Buried” is a beautiful photo of a winter forest mounted on wood, but a plug of that wood has been removed from behind and brought to the front to rudely obscure the photo.
Willa Nasatir could also be on to something interesting. She uses snapshots of cassette tapes (presumably from her own reliquary, old standbys like Leonard Cohen, Madonna, The Band, Springsteen and the Cars) as design elements in the photo collages “Tape Flair 1” and “Tape Flair 2”. Before the digital revolution, music albums were the artifact through which the individual participated in a larger culture. These allusions might limit her audience to those who share the same cultural capital, but perhaps the work goes further to talk about such allusion itself and the way any work relies on a shared cultural history for its appeal.
The closing reception for Day Glow is on September 3th. I encourage you to attend and perhaps make some sense of Sam Falls’ landscape photos. Some technique has been employed but I don’t know what and am not sure what it’s doing.
Nudashank
Day Glow
Opened August 7th
Closing Reception September 3, 2010
H&H Arts Building, 3rd Floor
405 W. Franklin Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
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