Western Street 1985 - 1986

Curator: This is James Casebere's "Western Street." It presents a monochromatic view of what appears to be a deserted frontier town. Editor: It has this eerie, almost theatrical quality. The contrast between light and shadow is so stark; it's like a stage set waiting for the actors. Curator: Casebere constructs these scenes in his studio, using simple materials to create miniature models. This one evokes a certain American mythology of expansion and settlement. Note the bare trees surrounding the settlement. Editor: Yes, and the way the buildings are rendered – their stark geometry is almost unsettling. The material and the artifice are both crucial to understanding its power. Curator: The choice of black and white enhances that sense of historical distance, prompting reflection on those foundational, sometimes romanticized, narratives of the American West. Editor: It certainly makes you consider the labor and construction of both the physical space and the stories attached to it. I keep thinking of a film set. Curator: Absolutely, a potent reminder that images, like spaces, are also constructed, laden with historical and cultural meaning. Editor: It definitely leaves you pondering the authenticity and making of images, and their relation to labor, history and memory.