Regine's, New York City Possibly 1977 - 1978

Editor: Larry Fink’s “Regine’s, New York City,” possibly from 1977 or 78, a gelatin silver print. It's cropped in a rather intriguing way focusing only on people's legs, which are set apart by a metal railing in front of framed images. The textures are really captivating – the sheen of the trousers, the carpet’s weave, and that cold metal. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a fascination with the trappings of wealth and how they are literally constructed. Look at that metal grating. It signifies exclusion as much as it signifies luxury, doesn't it? It frames wealth and labor. Consider also that these gelatin silver prints are produced in darkrooms; even in this documentation of leisure there is meticulous work involved. Editor: So, the materials and how they are constructed become the story, rather than who the people are at this club? Curator: Precisely. It shifts our focus from individual personalities to the social structures that produce and maintain spaces like Regine's. Fink isn't interested in simply portraying the elite; he's interested in examining the means of their distinction. What does it mean to use something as commonplace as a gelatin silver print to immortalize elite class separation? Editor: So, by documenting it in this way, he is pointing out that what appears spontaneous is really heavily mediated? It is "made" not naturally existent? Curator: Exactly. The material choices are integral. It is not simply who they are or how they act. But more importantly HOW it all becomes real through design, labor and printmaking tradition. Editor: I’ll definitely be looking at photographs differently now! I hadn't considered all of these processes inherent within it. Curator: It's about excavating the unseen labor and material decisions that underpin what we perceive as glamorous or elite. Seeing the work of art as labor.