Joan
Lemler’s current show at the Broadway Gallery fills the space with photographs
of textured emptiness, allowing the viewer to feel as if they are the most
recent human presence in these scenes. Sinewy and antique in appearance, many
of the works evoke memories of old world photography while breathing in a
contemporary edge. Other images show intimate private spaces, like bedrooms,
that are represented as timeless and bare, where the viewer may feel
voyeuristic inclinations or nostalgia: both important elements to the overall
effect of the work. Lemler articulates her direction: "Images infused with
traces of human presence, generally absent the people, are ideal venues for my
landscape photographs. I want the streets, rooms, and locations, where both solitude
and secrets reign, to evoke in the viewer’s mind contemplation, fascination and
longing."
Lemler’s
work in this exhibition represents her different methods of photography
including polaroid and emulsion transfers onto watercolor paper and digital prints
transferred from original slides. Her polaroid works represent the bulk and
strength of the exhibition by breaking down the differences between photography
and other, more experimental media. Here, the sinewy layering mingles with
vibrant colors to create both an image of a street scene and an abstract color
exploration. Lemler explains: "My photographs reflect the layering and
constant changing of life, a history revealed though remains and symbols, like
calligraphic graffiti on brick walls, or torn billboards which once conveyed
vital messages to crowds no longer there. The object in its degradation, the
emptiness of the space, reveal a strange beauty in the interplay of light,
color and texture." Works like One Way to Go
style=’font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana’> and Ghosted Message
style=’font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana’>frame urban buildings with a strong
line of color that references contemporary concerns in terms of abstraction and
their large scale. Inverse, on the other hand, uses a smaller scale reminiscent of
antique, faded postcards from an earlier time.
The
digital prints fall into two categories: industrial and non-industrial. The
non-industrial photographs in this exhibition move inward to evoke intimate,
but very empty spaces where bedrooms, living rooms and roads look as if they
have been unoccupied for years. Shear Curtains
style=’font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana’> frames the light from the windows
with the darkness from the interior of the bedroom. Yesterday’s Light
style=’font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana’>, on the other hand, creates a
split composition where the interior and its windows seem to battle for space.
This allows the dark and light areas to mix and generate a variety of patterns,
creating a dynamic abstraction of an interior.
Her
industrial works are less experimental in composition but do highlight aspects
of urban life to create an interesting dialogue. The work Fading Glory
style=’font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana’> shows a scene right out of a
Hollywood street that has a mural of a theater filled with old movie stars. The
voyeuristic quality of Lemler’s other works is turned around here and creates a
sense for the viewer that the city is ever watching.
Lemler
succeeds in portraying a sense of emptiness by isolating aspects of urban life
and private life with her compositions. She creates environments that, with an
added dimension, give way to color and texture experimentation. More
importantly, Lemler also allows the actual world to surprise us by providing
interesting compositions without a host of artistic manipulations.
Joan
Lemler will be at the Broadway Gallery (473 Broadway, 7th Floor)
through January 13th. |
