Discovering the Wrong

Tonight I went to the Design Exchange for another DX Talk. I prefer this type of event rather than events where it is required that I meet new people and speak intelligently about things I don't know a lot about (often I end up studying prior to those sorts of events). At these talks I have the opportunity to mingle but can also go, enjoy the talk, then leave without being pressured to do anything but enjoy the speakers. I really like the relaxed atmosphere and the opportunity to hear from designers from a variety of backgrounds.

Tonight Ann Thomas, Curator of Photographs at the National Gallery of Canada, spoke to Lynne Cohen about her work throughout the years and specifically about the pieces she is currently showing at the Design Exchange. Cohen's work consists of photographs depicting domestic, commercial and institutional spaces in cool, but welcoming compositions. Cohen creates her photographs by reframing interior spaces in intriguing ways. I say that the work is cool because the the photographs are generally devoid of life and the stark appearance of the spaces are uneasy in an almost wrong way (Cohen spoke a lot about how she is always looking for something that is wrong to photograph). One of the members of the audience brought up an interesting feature of the photographs, while they are cool, they are also welcoming because of the angle they are taken from. Cohen never creates barriers in the foreground, each of the photographs feel as if you could walk through them and into the space (Cohen thought perhaps that was the reason for all the nose smudges on the glass frames). The scale of her work also helps to create the illusion that you could walk through them. Rather than using a traditional film camera, Cohen works with an 8 x 10" view camera, and produces photographs that are approximately three feet by four feet, with both portrait and landscape compositions.

I found the talk very interesting and was happy to learn more about the photographs that I viewed beforehand. I find that when someone, be it the artist or a curator, explains the intention of the work it is more memorable and inspiring. I decided to get a membership for the Design Exchange after returning home from the talk, I realized that I really enjoy immersing myself in design and that having a membership will encourage me to go to as many events as possible.