The Found Photograph and the Limits of Meaning
Barry Mauer
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I found this image in a huge pile of other photographs on the sidewalk in front of a neighbor's vacated house. The lawn was littered with broken furniture, dirty toys, and rotting carpets. The family most likely lost their home through eviction, and with it, their memories and their privacy. Now their private memories, thirty years' worth of photographs, have become obscure objects for my inspection. |
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I examined the woman in this photograph many times. She's wearing a nightgown, smoking a cigarette. A large bottle of cheap vodka is on the table in the foreground. It's almost four o'clock. Is that four o'clock a.m. or p.m.? Either way it's bad. Perhaps the clock is broken. That's bad too. The power cord hanging from the clock indicates an inability to pay for better wiring or a lack of attention to interior design. My favorite detail is the Jesus leering down at her from the wall. "The Leering Jesus" is the title I have given the photograph. |
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