Untitled 2009 - 2011

Editor: This photograph, "Untitled," by John Gossage, taken between 2009 and 2011, presents what appears to be discarded materials—paint cans, lumber, metal—against the backdrop of a building. There is an immediate feeling of entropy, maybe even abandonment. How do you interpret this accumulation of objects? Curator: I see an index of labor, and specifically, the lifecycle of the construction and decay within our built environments. The realism he captures unveils the stages of production, utility, and ultimately, obsolescence within construction itself. Gossage meticulously renders the 'after' – a glimpse into the means and the detritus of everyday manufacture. Where does one draw a distinction between discarding construction remains and documenting decay, and between high art and common workmanship, labor and consumerism? Editor: I guess I hadn’t really considered it beyond a depiction of disuse. So, you're saying the composition and the photographic process themselves highlight this cyclical nature, this commentary on consumption and disposal? Curator: Exactly. The muted palette, the seemingly haphazard arrangement – these are all conscious decisions. Gossage is forcing us to confront the physicality of what we often overlook: the waste, the byproducts of our material desires. What might these building supplies have meant when the person bought them, carried them home? Consider what sort of labor these materials might stand in for, as well, the physical, strenuous labor and, indeed, even what form of compensation those who labored on this project might have enjoyed or been deprived of. Editor: It reframes the entire image. I initially saw chaos, but now I’m seeing the ghost of labor and material production. I like that I will now wonder who created these materials. Curator: Precisely, it's about revealing the processes of making, working, consuming, and what follows next. We've shifted the focus from the object as mere subject to object as a symbol of socio-economic practice. It allows us to comprehend value in a different, perhaps more nuanced, fashion. Editor: That’s definitely changed how I'll look at this picture, and really at a lot of things from now on! Curator: Wonderful!