Undisclosed Typologies explores the dislocation, alteration, and recontextualization of found photographs. Having worked in a museum’s photography archive for a time, I find myself drawn to photographs that were initially made to function more as clerical documents than aesthetic objects. The photographs I seek bear traces of the medium’s language, such as the discoloration of aged prints or the format of contact sheets, as well as the hallmarks of archiving, such as numerical text and stamps. Interested in the presence and process of repetition in photography, I commonly acquire prints in multiples or groupings to explore the subtleties of variation in both the original image and my intervention. Applying a series of straight incisions around the main subject matter, I systematically remove sections of emulsion to reveal the paper base beneath the image. The resultant white textured shapes are a circumvention of the image and its original intent, calling attention to the object and reversing the positive and negative relationship between subject matter and background.
1301.01.A, 2013
48 found chromogenic prints, partially removed emulsion; mounted to Dibond
8 x 10 inches (each print); approximately 35 x 131 inches (installed)
1301.02.C, 2013
15 found gelatin silver prints, partially removed emulsion; mounted to Dibond
8 x 10 inches (each print); approximately 26 x 54 inches (installed)
1304.07.E, 2013
9 found chromogenic prints, partially removed emulsion
3½ x 3½ inches (each print); 17 x 17 inches (frame)
1304.07.F, 2013
9 found chromogenic prints, partially removed emulsion
3½ x 3½ inches (each print); 17 x 17 inches (frame)
1402.03.J.01, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 8 inches (print); 14 x 12 inches (frame)
1402.03.J.02, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 8 inches (print); 14 x 12 inches (frame)
1402.03.J.03, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 8 inches (print); 14 x 12 inches (frame)
1402.03.J.04, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 8 inches (print); 14 x 12 inches (frame)
1402.03.J.05, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 8 inches (print); 14 x 12 inches (frame)
1402.03.J.06, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 8 inches (print); 14 x 12 inches (frame)
1402.03.J.07, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 8 inches (print); 14 x 12 inches (frame)
1403.04.K, 2014
2 found chromogenic contact prints, partially removed emulsion, sticker, grease pencil
11 x 8.5 inches (each print); 15 x 22 inches (frame)
1403.04.L, 2014
found gelatin silver contact print, partially removed emulsion
8 x 10 inches (print); 12 x 14 inches (frame)
1406.03.M.01, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
8 x 10 inches (print); 12 x 14 inches (frame)
1406.03.M.02, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
8 x 10 inches (print); 12 x 14 inches (frame)
1406.03.M.03, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
8 x 10 inches (print); 12 x 14 inches (frame)
1406.03.N, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 8 inches (print); 14 x 12 inches (frame)
1407.04.O, 2014
found gelatin silver contact print, partially removed emulsion
11 x 14 inches (print); 15 x 18 inches (frame)
1407.04.P, 2014
found gelatin silver contact print, partially removed emulsion
11 x 14 inches (print); 15 x 18 inches (frame)
1407.04.Q, 2014
found chromogenic contact print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 8 inches (print); 14 x 12 inches (frame)
1408.03.R, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 8 inches (print); 14 x 12 inches (frame)
1408.03.S, 2014
found gelatin silver print, partially removed emulsion
10 x 7 inches (print); 14 x 11 inches (frame)
1501.10.T, 2015
3 found chromogenic prints, partially removed emulsion
8 x 10 inches (each print); 29 x 13 inches (frame)