The Immigrant 1985 - 1987

Curator: Carl Plackman's "The Immigrant" presents a collection of disparate wooden objects arranged in a stark, gallery-like space. Editor: My immediate impression is one of fragmented domesticity and unsettling stillness. It feels like a stage set after the play has ended. Curator: Plackman’s work often explores themes of displacement and identity. Note the ladder-like structure, almost like unfinished architecture, juxtaposed with remnants of everyday life, like the chair and balls. Editor: Exactly. The rakes thrusting through the structure read as both support and constraint. Are they tools for building or barriers? I see a powerful metaphor for the precarious nature of belonging. Curator: These ordinary objects become potent symbols. The title, “The Immigrant”, encourages us to consider the narratives of those navigating new spaces and identities. Editor: It evokes the disorientation, the burdens carried, but also the potential for redefinition and play, symbolized perhaps by the scattered balls. This piece really makes you think about the immigrant experience.