Luhring Augustine is showing the work of Italian photographer Luisa Lambri. Lambri photographs the interiors of notable modern buildings, and the result is inevitably minimalist. The spaces are always empty, but they are not perfect, as depicted in sleek commercial photography; instead, they bear traces of wear. Some are overly suffused with light, like those scenes in movies that are meant to presage death. Many are of half-closed shutters that reveal tantalizing views outside. But if these photographs are supposed to evoke her personal relationship with these spaces, they don’t work. There is not enough in them - no narrative and no feeling. And because they are not formally complex, there is not enough to captivate the viewer.
Tonight I also saw an episode of Trading Spouses on Fox. What does this have to do with art? Not a single thing, but someone in my office knew one of the spouses. The premise of the show is simple: Two wives change places and hilarity ensues. But this wasn’t the typical switch, such as a white-trash housewife with an ambitious go-getter. The families were both accomplished, affluent, and intellectually equivalent.
The Plonskers are a serious, goal-driven family and the Welsh’s are a fun-loving British family. But Patty and Jeff Plonsker spend all their time working and financing an upscale urban lifestyle, while Sheila and Barry Welsh find time to horse around with their sons. Patty finds the brash Barry (a rocket scientist) rude and out of control; she herself employs an etiquette coach for her family. But her own husband Jeff, who dyes his hair and adds “ster” to everyone’s name, takes calls on his cell phone during family dinners. Meanwhile, unaccustomed to housekeepers, British Sheila feels like the Plonskers’ maid, and bristles when Jeff ignores his children.
The Plonskers are consumed with aspiration; the Welsh’s like to go wild. The Plonskers want to impress with their material possessions (and Sheila sees through it); the Welsh’s want to seduce with their antics (Patty gets drunk on champagne on her first day). The show isn't over, but I'm already impressed: First, that these families would go on a reality TV show, and second, that Fox paired them.
3 comments:
I'm watching the episode you mention for the first time. The part that most amused me was the irony of the incredibly rude and condescending etiquette coach employed by the Plaskers.
Sheila certainly saw through the whole mess. I was very impressed by her.
First off, I know Shelia Welsh since she works in the high school as a College and Career Center advisory. She is one of the nicest people in the school and she would give candy to the students whenever we had questions during class her class talks about what we wanted to do after high school.
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