Author: Gab Milata

Upon visiting the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the current exhibit Going Dark: The Contemporary Figure at the Edge of Visibility presents a wide array of topics to be discussed under the umbrella of darkness. This includes, but is not limited to the literal interpretation of darkness with the absence of color and light. By intentionally concealing essential aspects of the photos, more attention ends up being placed onto those exact areas out of curiosity. The pieces also draw to dark emotions, spaces, and represent hardships which people are faced with. The emotions that the artists wished to evoke out of the audience were often very clear and bold, if not quite unsettling. It was this overall experience which was targeted by the artists themselves. This theme was often achieved through means other than color schemes, yet the message was clear and cohesive nonetheless.

This exhibit features the work of 28 artists, all of whom obscure the images in order to create an element of mystery while simultaneously relaying their message rather openly. This leaves the viewer with a lingering thought of what could be hidden, thus fostering a personal connection to the piece itself. The main idea surrounding the curation of these works within the exhibit is to be on the “edge of visibility”, which was executed very well. While in many of the images, the main subject of the photo is fully present and in frame, the subject’s face or an aspect which one would typically look for is intentionally concealed. This adds a layer of depth to the piece, no matter how simple or complex the photograph is because it easily sparks an emotional connection between the art and the audience.

This first photograph on the left by Farah Al Qasimi from 2017 titled “It’s Not Easy being Seen 2” is a true representation of the “edge of visibility” that is modeled by the exhibit. While the entire shot is vibrant, in focus, and in frame, all of that detail that is typically looked for by people is left to the imagination. Not only is the woman’s entire face completely concealed, her hands are too, which elevates the level of mystery within the piece. While the entirety of the image is visible to the reader, almost nothing is visible at the same time. Despite all of this, it can be deduced that the subject feels confined and hidden, which are very dark topics to consider. This piece is a testament to the fact that art can be an experience, which goes beyond the physical work that is being analyzed. 

In a similar way, another photo that stood out to me was Stephanie Syjuco’s portrait from 2017 titled “Total Transparency Filter”. This image also clearly focuses on the subject in a way that grants the viewer plenty of space to form their own interpretation. Although the entire subject is clearly visible, there is not an overwhelming amount of emotion that would initially hit the audience. Instead it is the presence of this empty feeling which, in turn, adds to the experience. The greyscale color scheme also takes away from the potential of a lively atmosphere. However, this piece was also louder with its theme in the way that the transparency layer was covering the person who was intended to be the subject of the photo. This essentially would erase this person from the image, sparking a deeper conversation surrounding the topic of darkness on the internet.

There is also an undeniable element of tension between the images in the Going Dark exhibit and the viewer. The best a person can do is believe that they have an understanding of the artist’s vision, but they will always be left with the curiosity of wanting to know more. Refusing to give into this unsettling feeling feeds into the dark theme of the exhibit itself. We are often spoiled with the pleasure of having full access and information to an art piece, which leaves the sense of satisfaction that was omitted by many of these works. Aside from the obvious interpretation of darkness with a corresponding color scheme, these images were able to achieve these emotions even with a bright or loud color scheme. Through the use of angles, positioning of the subject, and clothing in order to effectively conceal the part which the artist wants the audience to focus on, the emptiness is exactly what is supposed to be conveyed. On a non-physical level, emptiness is a very dark feeling in itself, which is how many of these pieces tied into the exhibit’s theme successfully.

The play Ching Chong Chinaman, written by Lauren Yee, highlights several personal conflicts and developments through the use of dramatic irony and comedy. Desdemona, the daughter of Ed and Grace, was tightly focused on achieving her goal of being accepted into Princeton. Throughout the play, Yee uses irony in order to bring to the audiences’ attention the lengths that a student might go to in order to attempt to stand out against other applicants. Her burning desire to get into this school and to pursue the American Dream also caused her to be incredibly disrespectful to Kim Lee Park, who was a seventeen year old Korean orphan who she was sponsoring.

Over the course of the play, Desdemona turned much of her attention to what she could use for her college applications in order to create a sob-story or to stand out. To include topics such as teen marriage, drug abuse, adultery and a unique background were all appealing to her. This relates to the issue in the American college application process today, where students deliberately try to use a quirky or devastating topic in order to increase their chances of being accepted into a top college. The play also hinted at the theme of having selfish intentions behind seemingly good actions through the absurd interaction between Desdemona and Kim Lee Park in scene 5. Desdemona exploited Kim’s personal story of being abandoned by her mother for her own personal gain in order to create a certain image in the eyes of admissions officers. When Kim was too tired to help Desdemona write an essay that was written with no sense of respect toward Kim’s circumstances, Desdemona called her a “stupid girl” and guilted her into continuing.

Yee’s goals to highlight this personal struggle for Desdemona became especially evident when she ended up being admitted to Princeton and finding out that she herself is adopted from Korea immediately afterwards. This not only proved to her that she did not need to search deeply for a ‘unique enough’ background, but also that she should have been more respectful toward Kim’s background. Desdemona developed a superiority complex, believing that her personal goal of attending an elite institution was far above what someone in Kim’s position could achieve. The American Dream rests on the reputation that immigrants who came from nearly nothing work their way up to success. Desdemona was an example of how people in today’s society fight to stand out using their backgrounds as support, while completely disregarding the true hardships that actually accompany being part of a certain community. Her superficial standpoint on how she viewed her culture was a character flaw that Yee worked to bright to light.

By hearing a specific story and putting a name to the face of someone who has gone through something traumatic, we feel closer to that event and that person’s perspective of it. Ramussen’s choice to tell the story of human trafficking among Afghan refugees in the documentary Flee through Amin Nawabi helps the audience feel a connection to the event from the very beginning. This is because we were told the story through Nawabi’s eyes and his specific experience impacts the information that we receive. The animated style through which the story was portrayed also added a degree of detail that the old clips could not capture. It was through this that the audience could visualize Amin’s daily life- from watching TV with his family in Russia to simply finding a cat in the yard. Although some of the details conveyed in the documentary did not directly pertain to his escape from Afghanistan and Russia, they made the story far more personal to the audience, making it easier to feel moved by his experiences.

One scene toward the middle of the documentary that caught my eye was when Amin Nawabi began to recall the experience of attempting to traveling from Russia by boat. The animators used flashbacks from this period of his life to convey the story. This consisted of many shadows, mysterious figures, and dark colors to better represent the overall mood that comprised this event. These were all strategies to show that this was an incredibly uncertain time period filled with fear for his safety, family, and future. By tapping into the audience’s emotions through the use of skilled animation and personal anecdotes, the event felt much more humanized than it would have been had it been written plainly in the news.

Later on, once Amin has arrived, he has the means to explore himself to see what the future holds for him. In conjunction with this, the animation style felt more lively and subsequently portrayed a sense of hope, rather than a fear of the unknown. My view of how I saw Nawabi changed as his vision for himself also did. Learning to be comfortable with being gay and then growing into his new life after fleeing from home lifted many burdens that he has carried for a while. At the end, the sequence regarding Amin and his partner buying a peaceful house with a nice landscape represents the peace that finally ends the struggles he has endured for the majority of his life.

Although photography is an incredibly mainstream art form which does not require much skill or talent at an amateur level, it is just as capable in terms of telling a story and evoking emotions through a simple image as other art forms. To be able to capture a moment in time, no matter how significant, is a very convenient kind of art that can then be used in a variety of ways to either tell stories or just to keep for ourselves. Photography can also be used to reveal a moment that someone has experienced, or at the very least mimic it, so that others can share that moment as well.

As stated in On Photography by Susan Sontag, “Photographs, which package the world, seem to invite packaging. They are stuck in albums, framed and set on tables, tacked on walls, projected as slides” (Sontag, 2). These images can reveal only that which the person behind the lens wishes for it to reveal. It is because of this that photography is an incredibly personal art form which makes it easy for the photographer to convey their desired result. The ability to tamper with such photos also adds a new dimension to the ability to express exactly what it is the photographer aims to do. We can take out certain aspects of a photo that we may not like or play with the lighting setting to add to the mood we desire to portray.

For those who put thought into the way that their photos align, it is the beauty and precision behind taking photos that allows it to be as expressive as it is. We can easily hide moments that we do not wish to include, and replace them with smaller visuals that add to what we wish to make the audience feel. On some level, I do agree with Sontag’s standpoint where photos can be seen as the “objectification of the subject”, since we take the view for ourselves and make it our own to keep, remember, or share. On the other hand, I would not look at that as an inherently negative thing.

Seeing the evolution of photography as a whole since its was invented also gives us insight as to what people viewed as worthy of taking photos of. The style and types of photography that were used changed overtime as more and more people gained access to cameras. After digital cameras and later smartphones became easily accessible, people began to take more photos of everyday moments since they had the means to do so. I believe that the photos that someone takes can let the audience know what was on in their minds at that moment. The photographer must see beauty or value in that which becomes the subject of their photo, which is why it is worth looking at and discussing.