Equivalent
Seasons LA
A long time ago, I came across this quote by Alfred Stieglitz that stuck with me. Discussing his work ‘Equivalents’ which he started in 1922: “Through clouds [I wanted] to put down my philosophy of life—to show that my photographs were not due to subject matter—not to special trees, or faces, or interiors, to special privileges, clouds were there for everyone—no tax as yet on them—free.” It wasn’t until I came across this image of clouds on a storefront several years ago that I started to think about the idea of clouds as the most placeless possible landscape a photographer could make. Vinyl as a material, like Stieglitz’s clouds, is a stand-in for ideas and emotions, however wrapped in the capitalist mechanization that photography can never escape.
I can only speculate about the circumstances of the origin of the source image. Had the original maker of the image, which ended up on the building I photographed, seen ‘Equivalents’? Did the person making the picture get paid for the image? If sales tax varies by region, does the cost of clouds vary?
‘Equivalent – 2024 – In the manner of Alfred Stieglitz – Season LA,’ is printed on vinyl at more than 8’x20’ feet so that the clouds almost disappear, leaving only the layers of the work’s construction and a suggestion of its subject matter. My pursuit in the making of this work isn’t to disprove Stieglitz. The ideas is to see if a contemporary image (and what is depicted, in this case clouds), loaded with all of its questions and contradictions, were put back through its system, could it be set free again beyond the tax based system it came from.
Concrete Island a group exhibition:
August 3-25, 2024
Artist’s featured: Manal Abu-Shaheen, Peter Baker, Laura Bielau, Zach Callahan, Patrick Gookin, Heyward Hart, Anthony Hernandez, Mayumi Hosokura, Alan Huck, Shaniqwa Jarvis, Anne Lass, Lacey Lennon, Juan Orrantia, Yorgos Prinos, Josh Schaedel, Colin Patrick Smith,Chikara Umihara, Michael Vahrenwald.
Hardware Store LA
4860 W Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90018
I can only speculate about the circumstances of the origin of the source image. Had the original maker of the image, which ended up on the building I photographed, seen ‘Equivalents’? Did the person making the picture get paid for the image? If sales tax varies by region, does the cost of clouds vary?
‘Equivalent – 2024 – In the manner of Alfred Stieglitz – Season LA,’ is printed on vinyl at more than 8’x20’ feet so that the clouds almost disappear, leaving only the layers of the work’s construction and a suggestion of its subject matter. My pursuit in the making of this work isn’t to disprove Stieglitz. The ideas is to see if a contemporary image (and what is depicted, in this case clouds), loaded with all of its questions and contradictions, were put back through its system, could it be set free again beyond the tax based system it came from.
Concrete Island a group exhibition:
August 3-25, 2024
Artist’s featured: Manal Abu-Shaheen, Peter Baker, Laura Bielau, Zach Callahan, Patrick Gookin, Heyward Hart, Anthony Hernandez, Mayumi Hosokura, Alan Huck, Shaniqwa Jarvis, Anne Lass, Lacey Lennon, Juan Orrantia, Yorgos Prinos, Josh Schaedel, Colin Patrick Smith,Chikara Umihara, Michael Vahrenwald.
Hardware Store LA
4860 W Adams Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90018