Drie acrobaten Possibly 1960 - 1964

Curator: Here we have J. Richard's intriguing photograph, "Drie acrobaten," its date thought to be sometime between 1960 and 1964. What springs to mind for you looking at this, Editor? Editor: It strikes me as oddly weightless. These figures poised precariously on what I imagine is a high wire, bicycles and all, suspended against that flat, empty sky. It's all angles and tension. What do you make of it? Curator: It feels like a capture of a fleeting dream. The bicycles themselves appear fragile, almost ghostlike. But thinking of process and the act of photographic reproduction, look closely at the faded tones of gray, and those stark, nearly geometric black lines… This photograph documents not just the performance but the labor and the physical construction behind such feats. The balancing act is material. Editor: Good point! It’s almost brutal in its honesty; look at the exposed cables and lights hanging above, cutting through the clean sky. Those cyclists put their bodies through a punishing regime and depend on material constructs such as their clothing, shoes, bicycles, and wire… everything in service of that momentary performance for an audience that more than likely consumed this scene, and soon moved on to consume something else. Curator: Absolutely. There’s this raw, almost confrontational edge which makes the whole endeavor seem simultaneously magical and mundane, dangerous and strangely banal. One thinks, “That could be me up there”, riding that bicycle. Maybe we all are, in some symbolic fashion! Editor: Or rather, those performers ARE us; to imagine those risks. In a way the artist highlights these concerns, as a common subject, within reach; we can, ourselves, participate and share in the construction of this feat. Do you imagine that sense of accessibility was indeed the intended effect of the image? Curator: Perhaps; but the sheer bravery of the performance gives us license to imagine something more than simple, human ingenuity at work. A sense of overcoming human frailty; not quite a transcendence but something... else! Editor: Well, either way, I appreciate you taking me along to consider the production and consumption behind what at first felt so ethereal and fragile! Curator: And you, the invitation to come back down to earth! An everyday image filled with wonder.