Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Uta Barth - CO

At first glance, Uta Barth’s photographs may resemble abstract paintings or appear as personal descriptions of her surroundings. In many ways they do possess these qualities, but upon closer examination they inform the viewer of much more. The photographs are Barth’s method of questioning and examining her perception, and how her surroundings may be influenced by her perception. Rather than describing and showing to us recognizable imagery, her work appears to display almost nothing.

Barth’s earlier work is not nearly as discreet as her later, but still encompasses this idea of perception. Much of her early work combines elements of photography with Op art. For example, in her piece “Unititled # 14” , she portrays a tiny photograph of the exterior of a house at night that is lit from the inside. The photograph is surrounded by many bold black and white stripes that are almost painful to look at. In this image she is toying with the idea of the comfort associated with the home, and contrasting it with the jarring stripes that make you want to look away.

Over time her photographs grow much more painterly. They begin to suggest very subtle shifts in her perception of the things surrounding her rather than describing the study of perception in general. One particular series called “Nowhere Near” seemed to marked the beginning of her painterly abstractions. Over and over, each photo portrays the same tree shot from the same window in her house. The purpose of repeating the same subject matter throughout the series made it clear that the photographs were not about the tree or the window, but the slight shifts in her perception of them from day to day.

Another series, “...and of time.”, depicts (much like the title) very unclear fragments of things. In a manner comparable to the impressionist painters, she primarily focuses on the way that light affects her surroundings. Often times the photographs will portray the same wall over and over, and focus on the changes in the colors and shapes that are produced by the light upon it.

In a more recent series, “Sundial”, all of the photographs are taken at dusk. The photos show the transformation of things and colors as day fades into night. The changes from photo to photo are just as subtle as the natural shift from day to night, and it is often difficult to distinguish between one photograph from the one next to it. Although individually the photographs appear very similar, as a whole they capture the passing of time. They are very successful at representing both time and perception, the personal experience of each, and the interplay between the two.



Untitled #14



Nowhere Near



...and of time.



Sundial







References:


Barth, Uta, Jonathan Crary, Russell Ferguson, and Holly Myers. Uta Barth, The Long Now. New York: Gregory R. Miller & CO., 2010.

Barth, Uta, Sheryl Conkelton, Russell Ferguson, and Timothy Martin. Uta Barth In Between Places. Seattle: Henry Art Gallery, 2000.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uta_Barth

http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa239.htm



1 comment:

  1. Check out:

    Terri Weifenbach
    http://www.stephendaitergallery.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=46

    Tanja Hollander
    http://www.tanjaalexiahollander.com/

    ReplyDelete