May 2007
What the hell is going on at La Petite Mort Gallery?
Vernacular photography begs the question
May 4 – May 30, Vernissage Friday May 4, 7pm to 10pm
“Vernacular photography” is the great treasure hunt of art collecting: snapshots, postcards, medical photos, all taken for a particular purpose, that over time and in the hands of strangers take on their own separate beauty. It is art that is not made by artists, but is made by viewers that have created their own private accompanying narratives.
This month La Petite Mort Gallery features a stunning variety of these increasingly popular photos, ranging from the obvious to the inexplicable. There are formal portraits and vacation photos, home-baked glamour and nude shots, but the most compelling are those images that are unlike anything we have ever seen, that allow us to speculate endlessly on their provenance. These are conversation pieces of the highest order.
A highlight of this show is a slightly damaged and over-exposed black and white snapshot of about a dozen men standing at the edge of a freshly dug grave. An ornately carved wooden coffin is being lowered into the ground. What is already a very weird and compelling photograph is raised to another level by this fact: someone has carefully drawn tiny crosses in ink over the heads of four of the men. It is unavoidable – you have to wonder why. Is it because these men have died since? Are they murderers? Are they marked for revenge? So the journey begins.
On a lighter note is a photo featuring a grown man dressed as a ventriloquist’s dummy, complete with crazy make-up and giant bow-tie, that has to be seen to be believed. Like so many images in this show, the picture begs an obvious question: What the hell is going on here?
Don’t miss this strange and wonderful exhibit.
Curated by Monika Salva, Missy Marston-Shmelzer and Guy Bérubé
Merci,
Guy Berube, Director
La Petite Mort Gallery