if i had the wings of an angel, out of this prison i’d fly
June 15, 2007- July 27, 2007
Reception: June 15, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
453 W 17th St
beginning june 15th, autoversion, ltd presents a photo
installation by artist, robin graubard. graubard’s noirish
travelogues imbue inclusive and attractive elements into outsiders and
the outlaw mystique. her work reveals a wildlife within the mundane
and a commonplace within the strange. depicted in vivid colorings and
haunting black & whites, graubard’s subjects are unveiled with a
simplicity that marks strong emotional content and elusive personal
histories. the artist’s travels both domestic and abroad have landed
her photographs in life, time, the new york times, associated press,
paris match, der spiegel, the guardian and many other publications.
graubard’s journalistic endeavors also found her working as staff
photographer for the new york post. she brings to her artwork an eye
highly trained in the presentation and fabrication of truth.
“if i had the wings of an angel, out of this prison i’d fly” is
a trilogy of photographic “mise en scenes” extrapolated from
graubard’s recent history of photo work. the groupings suggest a low
key awareness of fiction and an expressive sense of psychology.
graubard’s protagonists are people she has met, places she has been
and images she collects. hung on pale pink, ocean green and white
walls, the artist weaves each grouping into a visual poetry loaded
with heavy crime-drama ethos. the exhibition reads like a william
burroughs novel; traveling from destination to destination,
encountering familiar, unfamiliar, and dangerous situations. all the
while, bucking any sense of linear time or history.
pinned alongside her photographs are laser print reproductions
of souvenirs she has collected from her trips. they include a runaway
letter written to the artist in 1968, a siouxsie and the banshees
backstage pass and a tabloid news teen-murder cover story featuring
the artist’s photography. the exhibition’s title injects another
token of remembrance into the show’s narrative. taken from a 1920’s
hillbilly hit, “the prisoner’s song,” the line was often sung by the
artist’s grandmother. these prosaic mementos anchor the exhibition’s
realism and act as powerful authenticators for graubard’s
quasi-documentary pulp fictions.
“if i had the wings of an angel, out of this prison i’d fly” is
on view through july 27th, 2007.
Robin Graubard lives and works in New York City. She is a 2005
recipient of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation’s artists grants program
and has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes. Her exhibition
history includes: “Noise: Young American Photography,” TH-Inside,
Milan, Italy and Berlin, Germany (2007); “Open Walls” curated by
Matthew Higgs, White Columns, NYC (2005); “CBGB & OMFUG,” CB’s 313
Gallery, NYC (2005); “Indigestible Correctness I” curated by Rita
Ackermann & Lizzi Bougatsos, Participant Inc., NYC (2004); “Rocks and
Trees” curated by David Armstrong, Photographic Research Center,
Boston, MA (2001) and “The Doll Hospital,” a solo exhibition at
Anthology Film Archives, NYC (1998). In 1976, the artist produced
directed and edited film of The Talking Heads and The Ramones.
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show| Location | map | | Address | 453 W 17th St, 4th Fl New York (Chelsea) NY, 10011 United States | | Phone | 212-242-0060 | | Hours | Mon-Fri 11-6 | | | |
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