Ways of Seeing -- The Panza Collection

Two minimalist pieces in the Hirshhorn Museum’s Panza Collection, which really grabbed my attention, were Jan Dibbets “The Shortest Day of 1970 Photographed in My House Every 6 Minute from Sunrise til Sunset,” as well as Doug Wheeler’s “Eindhoven, Environmental Light Installation.”

While the idea of Jan Dibbet’s photography experiment conducted in her home in the Netherlands was quite simple it was really the final product; how the shot was framed and how the photos were displayed, that really made the piece. I found her work to be quite beautiful from close and from a far. Upon viewing the photos from very close I was only able to examine one photo at a time, however, considering the fact that the subject matter of the photos does not really change, I was able to move quickly through the timeline without halting (like a very choppy movie). At this distance I was also able to examine the way the light in each photo changed ever so slightly, elegantly filling the room. When I moved back and examine the line of photos, the product was equally as impressive. Here I focused less on the beautiful window and nicely placed tree present in each photo but the piece as a whole. It appeared as an impressive strip on the wall moving from darkness to bright white and then back to darkness at the same rate at which it had disappeared.

The other piece that I really admired in the Panza Collection was the work of Arizona resident Doug Wheeler. This piece instantly caught my attention, most likely because his work was comprised of the entire room and the people within it. The perfectly white walls, ceiling and floor all appeared to slant toward the far, which was lined with concealed neon tubes. This emitted a brilliant blue light, which made the room glow and even appear hazy or foggy. I felt as though I was walking down a tunnel toward the final bright light, or heaven if you will. The other people also became a part of the exhibit when they passed in front of the blue neon wall producing dramatic silhouettes.  I very much enjoyed the way Wheeler created something so interesting and visually stimulating using such simple means.

             

Visual Narrative (Redux)

My photos were meant to tell a suspenseful and dramatic story. While I wish I could have used more of my photos, these nine will have to do. At some point I decided to apply a reddish tint to most of my photographs. I suppose this was to make the situation a bit more ominous. I sometimes altered the quality of the prints, however, most of them were of poor quality to begin with. I made sure to make the views from the bush especially distorted and strange to make the unseen subject seem especially creature-like.  I mainly focused on altering the color and contrast of certain areas of my photographs to draw the viewers' attention to items such as the lone shoe.