As I entered the Museum of Contemporary Art, I was drawn to the piece called Special Problems (from the Library of Photography series), 2013. It was a huge mural, and I liked it because it reminded me of the chapter in our class that discussed photography and collage.
Matt Lipps’ photographic work is not traditional, curatorial, and photographic art. He combines collage, sculptural, theatrical, and photographic techniques. Lipps cut out and assembled hundreds of figures from the 1970-1972, Time-Life Library of Photography Books. Using a mixed media collage aesthetic, Libbs, references innovations and central figures in the history of photography by assembling the cardboard cutouts at various scales that are then arranged. When first looking at the elements in the photograph and how they are arranged, it looks chaotic, yet then after taking a good look there is balance and a flow when following the horizontal shelves that the picture cutouts are placed upon. The mood of the photograph is lively and stimulating. The form is 3-D realistic, has a natural sense of depth and space, and has linear. The pictures are depicted long and narrow. I observed the lighting in the photograph as bright and intense in certain parts. First thing my eyes are drawn to and noticed about this artwork is the vivid colors of red, turquoise on the bottom of the photograph. The colored backgrounds contrast dramatically with the flattened objective black and white figures and forms selected by Lipps. Attached and arranged on shelves in front of the rich color backgrounds, the layout of the figures become the subject of a story being told. The shelves guide your eyes to looking at the composition, which is horizontal, at each picture.
The content of the piece is presented in the form of cutouts of figures that become the characters of the story being told. Danziger states, “The colorful backgrounds of the series come from 35mm photographs taken by Lipps when he was a student, and their warmed emotional color and abstract feeling contrasts dramatically with the coolly objective black and white figures and forms selected by Lipps from the books. Combining authored and appropriated photographs Lipps sets up a tension between the subjective and objective uses of the medium offering both an intriguing and fresh perspective on the history of the medium and history itself.” (Danziger Gallery Exhibitions Art Projects Info)
Josh Lilly describes the process of Lipps work by stating, “Through a process of extracting images from diverse source materials, Lipps would cut out and re-organize visual icons from our social history – forging his own compositions within built up three-dimensional sculptural stage sets. While this new series of photographs sees this process continue with the cutting out of almost 500 figures, Lipps’ Library actually points to a far more personal take on the practice of appropriation, paying tribute to the analog medium while posing new questions about the future of digital photography and imaging.” (Josh Lilly)
I think in this work the artist wanted to tell a story of a certain time. “The artist presents a narrative in many ways, by using a series of images representing moments in history, and by selecting a central moment to stand for the whole story.”(Getty. edu)
My experience in critiquing this work is that it gave me a different perspective on how I view art. I first looked at the obvious. Next I analyzed the artwork. Then, decided on interpretation. My feelings about this photograph didn’t change once I analyzed it, yet, after going in depth and forming an interpretation, based on everything I’ve learned, I appreciated the piece more. I would like to have it for my own because it is a unique piece of art. It also can add appeal to room.
I believe that this work is not for everyone. Some people might not appreciate the aesthetic value of the piece. I do believe the work is good; the artists’ creativity is distinctive as well as original. The aesthetic theory I believe this piece portrays is formalism. There is the use of manipulation of materials involving mastery of particular media, crafted, and aren’t copies of other work. The lines, colors, textures, shapes, spaces, and the arrangement of these elements in stimulate an aesthetic experience.
