Untitled
Artist
Barry Roth
(American, born 1951)
Date1977
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsPaper Size: 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.6 cm)
Image Size: 9 × 9 in. (22.9 × 22.9 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineGift of the artist, 2020
Object numberUAC6713
DescriptionIt seems that it is a commonly held belief within photography that whatever the photograph holds are somehow “true.” Whether it be in the sense that the photo-taking event physically happened or that the photo captures someone, or something, that verifiably existed. In either sense, there is an emphasis on the contents of the photograph, which becomes unquestionable in its accuracy; it is a photograph after all, and this is proof enough. Within his photography, Barry Roth destroys this very notion, calling the viewer’s attention to the photo as object, and the picture taking as a happening.
Roth’s work heavily emphasizes the construction of the work on numerous levels. In many ways, his work of the late 70s and early 80s were far ahead of their time. Today, photo editing is widespread, and post-modern deconstruction concepts such as Roth’s have firmly taken root. However, in the context of their moment, his photographic techniques were unheard of and largely avant-garde to a time which saw the portrait works of Avedon and the prevalence of street photography. It is perhaps more accurate to say that Roth’s works had more in common with poetry than traditional photography due to its multilayered visual rhythm as well as rhythm of creation.
Roth’s untitled black and white work is an ideal example of his early style. It is a photograph of a mixed media sculpture or assemblage, showing multiple drawings; some of airplanes and tiny parachuted people leaping from them, and others of what looks to be a set of three lawnmowers. They are taped to poles alongside what could be other paper or fabrics, appearing like strange flags. The photograph was then developed and carved and hacked into by Roth, adding a firm representation of the artist’s own hand. Notably, the cracks of the photo mirror those in the wall behind the collage, maybe playfully asserting the age-old adage of “art imitates life.” The piece is on one hand largely recognizable and on another, abstract enough for each individual to derive its relevance to their own moment. In an instant it could represent frivolity, and in another it could symbolize the viewer’s distance from the construct of war; how one may shape something that they have never experienced first-hand.
Although born in Detroit, Barry Roth received his BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He later would return to Michigan where he would pursue his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Roth continues to create elaborate compositions today, collaging photos from around the city of Detroit with handmade sculptures.
Written by Samantha Hohmann
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