Victor Landweber, photographer
American
Cameras
Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla, CA
Article by Cathy Breslaw
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| Hopalong Cassidy 20" x 16" Cibachrome print |
Victor Landweber is a conceptual artist who uses the medium of
photography to create his art. American Cameras is an exhibition of
fifteen 16” x 20” Cibachrome prints whose subject matter is vintage cameras of
the 1940’s and 50’s. These color images are portraits, each work having a
single frontal view of one camera that is centrally placed onto a black
background. Landweber has carefully traced
a white outline around each camera, like a ‘glowing halo’, emphasizing its
shape and elevating the unique qualities of each one. This series highlights the distinctive
designs and commercial viability of these retro cameras, showcasing them as objects of beauty. Each camera
had unique names including Imperial Debonair, Bear Photo Special, Hopalong
Cassidy, Brownie Starlet and Lady Carefree. Their ability to create images
takes a back-seat to their object-hood, transforming Landweber’s photographs
into commercial photographic illustrations. On a deeper level, Landweber is
guiding us to ask the question ‘what is art?’ and whether the context of his
presentation of the cameras meets our definition. This photographic series, created in the
early 1980’s, documents the early years for the development and use of the
camera and its relationship to making art.
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| Beacon Twenty-Two Five 16" x 20" Cibachrome |
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| Bear Photo Special 20" x 16" Cibachrome print |
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