Real Estate #907218 1990

Editor: We are looking at "Real Estate #907218", a C-print photograph from 1990 by Henry Wessel. I find the seemingly ordinary subject matter—a house—kind of striking, but also muted with that pastel color. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Wessel’s photograph, at first glance, may appear as just a documentation of vernacular architecture, but let’s delve deeper into the socio-political context. In 1990s America, homeownership became intrinsically linked with ideas of the American dream and access to wealth. Whose dreams are centered here? Do the barred windows and the seemingly identical nature of this ‘real estate’ reflect anxieties about safety, class, and conformity? Editor: That's interesting. I hadn't considered the bars as a kind of socio-economic commentary; I thought of them only aesthetically! Does the idea of realism tie into those themes at all? Curator: Absolutely. This aesthetic is a sharp turn from the romantic idealization that characterized earlier landscape painting. There's a deliberateness to Wessel's style. Instead of masking inequality and displacement, his direct gaze amplifies those issues. By photographing real estate, Wessel’s frames raise issues concerning place, race, and the economic forces at work within this community. The house becomes a character, a stand-in for larger discussions about property, belonging, and social exclusion. How do you feel about the title now? Editor: I think it does lend to this feeling that even real estate is a social concept. Thanks for pointing that out! Curator: Precisely. These photographs encourage viewers to actively engage in questioning social power structures and historical underpinnings within our own neighborhoods. Editor: I now see the photograph through a different lens. There's a whole new perspective on the photograph’s message that has been unlocked!