Artist Presentation - Paul Graham

Suppose that you had to explore your hometown as if you had never been there before; what do you think you would see? Would you be surprised? Amused? Upset? Much too often we fail to see what is right in front of us, "in our own backyard" so to speak. Just consider our primary mode of transportation, the car: this bullet-like shell is specially designed to get us from point A to point B as quickly as possible allowing for minimal contact with the "otherness" of the outside world. Through my experience working with the Hope CommUnity Center, I have been challenged to slow down in order to take in the present realities and in doing so I became more aware of myself and my own community.

 

(Waiting Room, Poplar DHSS, East London, 1985, from the series Beyond Caring, 1985)

This type of active engagement with the world is at the core of photographer Paul Graham's work. He wanted to explore how documentary-style photography could be used to capture "pictures [that] are found in the world, not made in a studio" (Woodward D.9). Graham rose to prominence during a time in which the medium of photography had barely entered into the realm of the contemporary art world and it was he who had begun to challenge the notion of photograph as either art or document, but rather as a union of the
two. He attempted to portrays the social realities of the world with

brutal honesty; his "work distinguishes itself by retaining a firm and full commitment to life as it unfolds" ("Introduction").

(Baby and Interview Cubicles, Brixton DHSS, Soth London, 1984, from the series Beyond Caring, 1984)

For the remainder of the discussion I will refrain from speaking, as ar once said, in "set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases. No indeed! but I shall use the words and arguments which occur to me at the moment..." I will discuss each of the photos that I have selected, as well as my reasoning for selecting them. They represent only a small sample of Graham's extensive body of work, so I do encourage you to not take what I say as absolute fact, and to explore for yourself.

(End of an Age, 1996-98)

The first set of images shown above manipulate our perception of space; both the viewers relationship with the people shown in that space, as well as, the relationship between those people and the space that they occupy and between one another.  The vastness of this space is exaggerated by Graham, I interpret this as a critique of our own culture which keeps us at these safe distances from one another, preventing us from truly knowing other people. Much like a voyeur who can see and fantasize about the object of his affection but is too afraid to reach out to actually touch it. He creates this space by positioning himself in such a way that he has physical obstacles (bench) in front of him that impede him from being in direct contact with his subject, as is the case with the first photo. Or he will physically distance himself from the subject (Photo 2). Or, from what I can interpret from the third photo, he will approach the situation from different angles in order to capture the room in such a way that it has never been looked at before, as such, he offers us a different perspective. 

(Untitled, New Orleans 2004)

This next image, depicted just slightly above, will serve the purpose of being an introduction to Graham's unique style of portraiture and how it has evolved through his series of work. His presence doesn't seem to affect the woman in the photo, characteristic of the deadpan style of contemporary photography. The neutral lighting, supplemented by a very neutral color pallet help create a cool and detached relationship between the photographer and his subject.


These images shown to the left were chosen for their narrative properties; imagine, if you will, how the message might have be different had I flip-flopped the presentation of them. To lend you some background information, these images were taken from a selection of photos that Graham had captured while on a road trip across the country. He was looking to "lend dignity to life's tiny moments" (Deitcher). For these particular photos, Graham had met this woman while he was visiting pre-Katerina, New Orleans. Initially their simplicity was used to show the normalacy of life, as it was experienced by the poorest sector of the state's population. However, taken in the context of present day history, following the events that occured with Hurrican Katerina, they can almost be said to deliver a much more hopeful message/ narrative, life goes on.

These next two photos were selected from Graham's American Night series. Imagine that you have just emerged from a dark room, and as you make your way outside, you walk straight into a stream of bright sunlight. The harsh glare of the real world would probably be difficult to take in at first, almost to the point of being painful. You might even resist it, finding that it is much easier to remain inside. Such is the case with this photo seen to the right. We fail to see the African American man standing along side the building until we accustom our eyes to seeing what is really there.

(American Night, 2002)

This photo stands in stark contrast to the photo on the left, which depicts a quiet suburban home. This collection is taken from a very powerful series of photos, which depict the harsh division between the impoverished portions of society and those who possess a greater portion of the wealth. The white cast of the first photo makes these people appear to be almost invisable, reflective of their role in actual society.  However, Graham dare's us to take a closer look, but only if we choose to do so.

Graham is considered to be very experimental with his approach (which I hope to have conveyed through my selections thus far), however these next two images are worth noting. The first is a photo of some writing that Graham found on the inside of a bathroom stall, which was taken from the context of several images similar in nature. This one was the least obscene of the group (hence why I chose it, figured that I would try to keep it PG-13). However it begs the question, what makes a photograph or in this case, could this be considered art? Based on our inquires into the study of the photo as contemporary art thus far, what do ya'll think, is this art?

 

(Paintings. Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York, 2000.)

(Photos courtesy of the Paul Graham Archive: www.paulgrahamarchive.com)

Bibliography:

Books
Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: A Cultural History. 2nd ed. Great Britain: Laurence King

             Publishing, 2006. Print.
Weski, Thomas. Click Doubleclick: The Documentary Factor. Walther Konig, 2006. Print.

Articles
Deitcher, David. "Paul Graham." Artforum May 2009. Web. 25 Sept 2010.

             Frischkorn, Shauna. "American Night." Library Journal. 129.1 (2004): 102.
Woodward, Richard B. "Photography: Stories Found in the Streets." Wall Street Journal 19 Mar 2009,

             Eastern: D.9. Print.

Websites
"Introduction." Paul Graham Archive. Gallery Press Release, 2006. Web. 20 Sept 2010.

            <http://www.paulgrahamarchive.com/introduction.html>.
"P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center: Exhibitions: Paul Graham: American Night." MOMA PS1. 12 Oct.

            2003. Museum of Modern Art. 12 Sep 2010. <http://ps1.org/exhibitions/view/1 98>.