mprinzhornchristopher williams

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Territory Is Measured at the BordersAuthor(s): Martin Prinzhorn and Susan Mackervoy

Reviewed work(s):Source: Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context, and Enquiry, Issue 16 (Autumn/Winter 2007),pp. 54-61Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design,University of the Arts LondonStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20711658 .

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3



Tenebrionidae, Asbolus Territory IsMeasured at the Borders

verrucosus, Death?

Martin Prinzhorn

Feigning Beetle,

Silverlake, California,

October 1,1996,1996,

gelatin silver print,

27.9 35.6cm

The relationship between photographyas an autonomous art form and as amedium used

within conceptual art practices tomove away from painting, ultimately for deflationist

purposes, has steadily become less and less clear in recent decades. Twentyor

thirty

years ago itwas still relatively simple todistinguish between classical photography and

'expanded' photography? alternative practices which consistentlyused the form and

contentof thepicture toreferbeyond the frame of the image toanother, external level

ofmeaning. Therehas been somuch work exploring the transitions between conceptand the idea of a 'pure' image that thetwoaspects are closely interwovenand oftenverydifficultto tellapart.Defying thenegative assertions of cultural pessimists, history and

arthistoryhave continued toevolve in recentdecades and within thishistoric perspectiveall positions and their boundaries necessarily have a

dynamic character. Nowadays this

may not always involve thecreation ofnew paradigms or agendas, but itdoes lead tothe

development of new perspectives and the re-examination of old positions. As in other

caseswhere boundaries have become problematic because theywere drawn in thepast-

in the relationship of figurative and non-figurative painting, for example,or between

the artwork and thespace surrounding it theparticularly interestingartisticpositionsare those thatexplicitly address theseproblems of definition and make thema central

element of theirpractice. The important thinghere is thatthe artistworks within a

particularmedium, while at thesame timebuilding up enough distance from this

medium toshow thatwithin a dynamic historical perspectivewe can and should not relyon past assumptions about the medium's attributes. In photography

?still at an

early

stage in theprocess ofhistoric definition ? thepath is often verynarrow one: it s

extremelydifficulttodecide when aphotograph is simply a substitute fora painting and

merely rehearses traditional habits ofperception, and when it s a distinctivemedium

carryingwith it ll thecomplexity and contradictions of recentdevelopments. As an

artisticmedium, photography is far frombeing so new that itautomatically induces

a subversive orobjectivising mode of understanding. At the same time history

can also

be understood asmerely a system of reference forfulfillingvarious nostalgic desires ?

bringing thedead back to ife,so tospeak. Photography,with itsbuilt-in potential for

quotation, is particularly susceptible in this respect.

Inhis earlyworks, ChristopherWilliams already established a distance from

his medium byusing foundmaterials; laterhe does thisby having assistants producethe images under his direction. Of course, thiskind ofprocedure does notmean that

his individual artistic signature is eradicated, yetat thesame time itensures that the

subjective viewpoint is not identified with the camera's viewfinder but remains separate,

overleaf within the artist's mind. This in turn ensures that decisions are made on a level which

3 White (DG}sMr. relativises themedium, where themetaphor of the artist's 'eye' is nolonger possible.

Postman), Fourth Race, What he conjures up from his mind, of course, always remainsphotography, but

Phoenix, reyhound photography in all itsfacets and various genres, from thepress photo through toportrait,Park, Phoenix, Arizona, architectural photograph and nature study. On the one hand this expands the scope

August2,1994,1994, of themedium enormously; on the otherhand this expansion collapses at thepoint

gelatin silver print, where the artist's role as remote stage-manager exposes this expansion asnothing

27.9x35.6cm but simulation.

Christopher Williams |55



ft

56 I fterall



SOURCE: The

Photographic Archive,

Uohn F. Kennedy

Library..., 1981,

gelatin silver print,

24 X 35cm

58 I fterall



Williams's earlyworks are stillveryreminiscent of theConceptual art of the 1960s

and 70s - for example his selection ofpress photographs from archives toforman

exhibition inwhich JohnF.Kennedy has his back towards thecamera or ishidden

by other people. Here the stage-management and concept reside in the act of selection:

because the central subject of the images has been obscured thephotographs become

disfunctional; in theiroriginal context thisdivested them ofmeaning tothepoint of

unusability, but in thecontextofart theirmeaning is restored,because here theywork

as images pointing beyondwhat theymake visible. A typical quality ofWilliams's workis already apparent here: in justa tiny oment thingshave been displaced from their

usual role?

a brief turning-away from the camera or oneperson's small step between

thelens and thesubjecthas shiftedtheworld of the image in away thattotallydestabilises

it. The image itself as an autonomous object somehow becomes completely mysterious

and can onlybemade sense of throughtheconceptual act, through explanatory narrative.

Unlike many first-generationexamples ofConceptual art thisreference to n invisible

concept isno longer an explicit, emphatic actwhich itselfbecomes thefocalpoint of the

work; instead it as somethingnon-committal about it, s ifthiswere only one of several

possible options.

One of these earlyworks produced under theartist's direction shows a greyhound

running round thecurve ofa track in a dog race.At firstsight thiswork seems tobe

theexact opposite of thedocumentary photographs taken from the archive. In terms

of content,however,we are again dealing with documentary photography as a genre:thesports photograph. This time thecentral subject of thework, thedog, is emphasisedeven more than would be usual in a

documentary photograph. The impression created,

not only through theprinting process, is of ahighly elaborated work, completely

contradicting thefleetingnature of thescene depicted: the result is a certain feeling of

artificiality.The dramaticmoment, thehundredth ofa second inwhich theimagewas

captured, contradicts the artistic perfection of the end result. Here Williams moves very

close toan ideal imagewhich appears torely solely on itscontentand itsformalbeautyfor itseffect. et as you look at thepicture the impression steadilygrows that there is

in factno immediacy here at all: thattheartificialitywhich fixed the image in an artistic

context was also inherent in the process of thought leading to its creation. The concept

disappears almost tothepoint of invisibility,manifesting itselfonly in an obsessive

perfection which presents as astage-managed

scene or simulation something which

in factcannot be such at all. This work already shows something thatplays akey role in

many ofChristopherWilliams's laterworks, i.e. thattheconceptual level isno longerintroduced explicitlybut reveals itselfonly throughverydelicatemanipulations in the

border zoneswhich distinguish a simple image from a conceptualwork. As you look

at thework itsaesthetic qualities initiallypush you in a verydefinite, apparently easily

comprehensible direction; and yet on closer inspection this proves to be tenuous. Here the

fact that theartisthas chosen a specificmedium is also important: these subtle,gradually

perceptible alienating elements require a thorough knowledge of themedium and a

knowledge ofall thevarious contexts inwhich itcan be used.

InWilliams's portraits of Eurasian women, too, we seem to be dealing initially

with specificgenreswhich are being used in an unproblematic way. Theirup-front

advertising aestheticmight be seen as akind ofWarholian transfigurationof the

everyday into a new, very restrained reworking of Pop art. Yet with the yellow colour

thatwe are all familiarwith fromKodak filmpacks theartistbrings a totallydifferent

dimension into the images, somethingwhich like the subjects of the images themselves

belongs to the collectivememory of themedium. Thishas a dual effect ere: on theone

hand it is a reference tothematerial which actually constitutes themedium; on theother

itappears within thecontent like an alien bodywhich has got lost somewhere in transit

between different evels of interpretation.Here, too, the tension of thework resides

in the fact that tinitiallyventures intoalmost banal territory? theportraitsmight

be utilised in a touristcatalogue or something of thekind - but thenundermines this

territory with a small intervention, pointing in a very different direction. Here the

concept is not seen as an alternative to particular traditions, in the way that first genera

tionConceptual artistspositioned themselves against painting and sculpture,but simplyas away of always being able topoint in a differentdirection, layingbare theprocesses

bywhich themedium operates. Itwould bewrong, therefore,toargue that illiams




defineshis position from aConceptual artbasis; in fact,following on fromhis teacher

JohnBaldessari, he sees it s away of constantly asking new questions of theapparentlyfixed dimensions and rules of artistic discourse.

Another of theseminimal interventions involves turningthingsaround. In a series

ofworks Williams has depicted beetles lyingon theirbacks. The form of theseworks

is reminiscent of classic black-and-white photography familiar fromnatural historydocumentation and the aesthetic style testablished. In otherwords they re radicallydifferentfrom theotherworks discussed so far.The animals are taken out of theirnatural contextand photographed against aneutral background; thesettingas awhole

transmits a kind of academic monotony as a foil fordocumenting pure form.Yet this

neutrality itselfisdisrupted by the animals' position thatsignifieshelplessness and

therefore brings in an element of drama. Againas viewers we find ourselves in a space

thatcannot be clearlydenned: in thiscase theartisthas created theambiguitynot

throughexternal references but througha simple inversion.Although wemay all have

observed beetles in this situation, in theseworks all natural elements are excluded

and everythingpoints towards an elaborately stage-managed scene (Williams producedsome of theseworks in collaboration with an insect trainerforHollywood films).1The aesthetic impression createdby this contradictory quality is one of cruelty- crueltywhich we do not connectwith the insect'shelplessness somuch aswith a particular

1 The beetles used in the photoshoot were death-feigning beetles.

Kodak Three Point

Reflection Guide, ? 1968

Eastman Kodak Company,

1968. (Miko smiling).

Vancouver, B.C. April 6,

2005, 2005, c-print,

50.8 61cm

60 I fterall



historically identifiableway ofdepicting natural objects by reducing them toformal

criteria.These photographs have a counterpart in otherworks produced at thesame

time inwhich a car isphotographed in a very similarway, against a neutral background,

except thathere it s themachine which ? seen through theeyeofa nature researcher

takingamodern aesthetic stance ?suddenly acquires ahelpless, pitiable quality.Again

it s theartist's distance tohis medium which makes this otherperspective possible.The camera here isnot an 'expanded eye'with theeye's subjective qualities but amedium

which already has a very long history and a correspondingly extensive archive of imagesand effects.

Yet ChristopherWilliams is always dealing withmore than just therelationshipofphotography to art.Working at theboundaries of thegenre

- in thegrey areaswhere

classifications cannotbemade a priori but reveal themselves only through thework's

own processual dynamic- he points totheopenness and open-endedness which

must always be part of theartisticprocess when ittakesplace in awareness of ahistoric

Kodak Three Point context. The uncertainties and ambiguities the artist generates in the viewer show that

Reflectionuide, 1968 modes of seeing are subject tochange- habits and routines can be created and then

Eastman odakCompany, disrupted. Transforming this interplay intoart and constantlyarriving at a pointwhich

1968. Miko aughing). isnot an endpoint but containswithin itself thenext necessary development isperhapsVancouver,. C.April , themost fundamental attributeofgood art, regardless of themedium being employed.2005, 2005, c-print,_

50.8 61cm Translated by Susan Mackervoy

Christopher Williams | 1

mprinzhornchristopher williams

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