Lee Friedlander Timothy Taylor Gallery September 2011

At this exhibition I tried to take note of everything so it may jump about a bit and need adjusting once my initial thoughts have been jotted down.

Firstly the Timothy Taylor is a medium sized gallery space, the walls and ceiling are high, whitewashed with very subtle lighting. The lights are high and diffused, not being an electrician I'd describe them as hidden behind opaque perspex sheets.

Lee Friedlander at the Timothy Taylor Gallery

Lee Friedlander at the Timothy Taylor Gallery

New Cars 1964



I walked in picked up the exhibitions notes carried on walking to discover that the images directly in front of me were the last photographs in the America by Cars series, so I turned around and started again ;o)

The New Cars 1964 series comprises of 33 black and white gelatin silver prints 8 1/2in x 12 7/8 in in size. The images are displayed in two rows, the top row being at eye level the second row directly below. They have white surrounds and white frames so that the photographs are the prominent feature.

The series was commissioned by Harpers Bazaar, the previous year's new cars being captured by Andy Warhol and all the glizty trappings associated with his brand of commercialism. The images produced by Friedlander could not have been more opposite, and in fear of upsetting their car advertisers Harpers pulled the shots.

On reviewing them you can see why. Instead of placing the cars in areas of outstanding beauty or of cultural importance, draped with fashion models, Friedlander put them in places where they would be found in reality; a drive in cinema, a shopping mall and even eventually a used car lot. Not only were the locations rather dubious for an advertising campaign, so were the compositions; the car became a secondary object to its surroundings. More a social documentary comment on the state of the American economy, the importance being placed on consumerism and the relentless search for the American Dream. Friedlander stated 'I just put the cars out in the world instead of on a pedestal.'

According to the review in the FT Friedlander claims not to have spent much time composing his shots but I find this hard to believe as some of them were done so cleverly, The cars are framed within phone boxes, shop windows, between street furniture, behind a pile of used tyres, the car itself barely seen.. All the verticals, shadows and reflections fit neatly within the frame. Reflections are cleverly used not only in the plate glass windows but also in the cars themselves, each showing real insight into the everyday life and trappings of ordinary Americans at this period of time. He even made use of the poor weather conditions, making the most of diffused lighting and the wet pavements giving even more reflections of the world. Accidental or otherwise the composition of this series is fascinating to look at.

The small selection below doesn't do justice to the detail within each image, nor could I find some of my favourites online.

The images provide a superb snapshot into America of the early 60's and the attitudes of advertising, which don't appear to have altered given the glossy, seductive car adverts we are bombarded with today.



Lee Friedlander Untitled New Cars 1964



Lee Friedlander Untitled New Cars 1964

Lee Friedlander Untitled New Cars 1964

Lee Friedlander Untitled New Cars 1964



Lee Friedlander Untitled New Cars 1964



Lee Friedlander Untitled New Cars 1964



America By Car

Taken between 1997-2009 America by Car documents Friedlander's trips across America in various rental cars. Using a Hasselblad Superwide camera he explored the cities as well as the open countryside. Still using black and white this set has been produced as 15inx15in square prints.

As opposed to his earlier series, which used objects to frame the vehicle, in America by Car Friedlander uses the cars to frame the views. However there is equal importance placed on the use of reflection, this time utilising the wing mirrors and windows to great effect. There are frames within frames, sometimes the windows open, with the glass dissecting the landscape with exacting precision, each division revealing an insight once more into the American way of life and containing visual information, be it just a fly on the glass. Sometimes the object of our attention is blatant commercialism, Coca Cola signs, large ice cream cones, and the last image of Friedlander himself ,wearing a Lee branded T-shirt. Others take a humorous look at life, signs with missing letters, adverts for Hot Babes, 'God Bless America' screams one..... Signs and symbolism are at the forefront with many of the images including the Star Spangled Banner.

At first, his approach seems to limit the viewpoint, shots through the windscreen, through windows, through open doors, but when you look closer you start to notice all the finer details and how each shot is totally different even if they initially appear the same. Landscapes which would ordinarily be banal are transported into the surreal and compelling.

It is interesting to note how the interior of the cars on occasion echo the view it is framing, a prickly cactus looks like the herringbone pattern on the door, an air vent has a similar shape to the mountains, a plastic horse echos the diagonal border of the windscreen. Although not necessarily in sharp focus the car interiors also play a part, showing modern gadgetry. There are so many facets to comment on. All 192 images give us what New Cars 1964 also gave us, a snaphot of America within a definite time frame and the over reliance on the motor vehicle in American society as a whole.

Lee Friedlander Untitled America by Car

Lee Friedlander Untitled America by Car

Lee Friedlander Untitled America by Car

Lee Friedlander Untitled America by Car

Lee Friedlander Untitled America by Car

Lee Friedlander Untitled America by Car

So what did I take away from this exhibition? After seeing Struth it was good to view smaller images that you could easily take in, that square framing does work, simple framing and lighting shows images off to their best advantage, if you want your work to be published when doing a commission bear in mind what it is the customer requires. I did think after a while that the same viewpoint got a little wearing even though individual images made for compelling viewing.

Research



http://www.timothytaylorgallery.com/

http://www.galeriezander.com/de/artist/lee_friedlander/works

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e3d50992-d2ff-11e0-9aae-00144feab49a.html#axzz1XfJtNxYY