Prompt: I’d like you to say what captures you about the image–that is, about what can be distributed infinitely through digital sources–and what is important about the print itself as a unique object.
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Initially, what captured me about the piece was that it was unlike the other forms of art within the gallery; it is a calotype negative but at a quick glance, it just looks like a piece of folded paper with a cutout. This piece seems so simple yet it speaks volumes.
The part of the piece that can be distributed infinitely through digital sources is the significance of the human cutout. Regardless of the platform, the cutout will be evident. I interpreted the cutout to be the possible emotional state of someone inside such a large studio. Perhaps the studio is so massive that this person cannot help but to feel as though they don’t even belong there, aren’t significant enough, or just simply feel lonely. The feelings that this piece evokes also transcend through any platform. Despite being just the negative and not being able to show you the complete scenario, so much angst emanates from it.
However, this piece as an original is a very unique object. As a cut and waxed calotype negative, a digital representation of the piece would not do it justice. This digital representation does not have the same potential because it cannot be processed into the complementary colors into a colored image. Also, a digital representation would only represent the piece as 2-dimensional. The significance of the cutout and seeing the vague shadow of the piece on the back of the frame cannot be reflected in a mere .jpeg file or anything synonymous with it. A digital copy of this piece would not do the artist justice because it would over-simplify what the piece has potential of conveying.
Polina Safovich (Critic)
Reading through all the posts, Aaron’s choice of print from the Howard-Greenberg Gallery and his interpretation captured my interest the most. The image depicts a large studio, which to me looks like a stage with big curtains on the side, as if a performance is currently happening. There also seems to be an arched doorway or pathway towards the center of the stage. Towards the right there is a cut-out figure of a human, which I interpret as a woman because of the long dress or cloak she is wearing. She may be an actor on stage performing. The fact that she is cut-out or not part of the actual print can indicate a sign of invisibility, or absence of something, as if she was a ghost trying to reconnect with her past with the stage or her acting career. The print is called “The Large Studio”, so this adds to the theme of loneliness and depression possibly. The negative calotype would produce copies that also lack the actual figure since that space is empty emotionally and physically.