Utah 1974

Curator: Right away, I'm getting a very Hopper-esque, slightly eerie vibe from this. Like something's about to happen, but all is still...suspended. Editor: I agree, there is a sense of eerie stillness. We're looking at Henry Wessel's photograph titled "Utah" from 1974. It's a gelatin silver print, a medium Wessel embraced to document the overlooked aspects of the American West. Curator: Ah yes, now that you mention the American West, I see it...or maybe it's more of an idea of the West. Those television antennae jutting from the motel roof have a strange, spindly elegance...like strange metal cacti. Editor: Absolutely. The architecture itself speaks volumes. The "B&W Motel"—Black and White Motel–with its faded signage and rather severe geometric design, signifies a transition in roadside aesthetics. Curator: Severely charming though. Those curved edges, the circular window... it almost looks like a stage set! This isn’t just a snapshot; there’s something self-aware, maybe even a little subversive, about framing something this seemingly ordinary with such precision. It’s elevated somehow, almost lovingly so, as if trying to give dignity to a banal situation. Editor: And that's exactly where its postmodern significance resides! Wessel's focus on these quotidian spaces challenges traditional notions of the "picturesque" or "beautiful". It pushes us to reconsider what constitutes worthy subject matter in art, interrogating how capitalism, architecture, and road culture are shaping identities. Those stark shadows almost become metaphorical—reflections of the economic shadows that were starting to creep over the facade of the so-called "American Dream" back in the '70s. Curator: Very true! What was considered disposable or unimportant can hold a wealth of meaning. Even on a purely sensory level, look how Wessel has created an image where the shades of gray almost act as colours! It has real beauty, it’s very strange. A quiet statement that is a complex photograph Editor: Exactly, Henry Wessel manages to provoke discussion. Its photographic realism becomes almost philosophical. Curator: This photograph nudges one into seeing beauty in what might at first glance look drab and boring! I'm really taking to those shadows now. They’ve become friends. Editor: A motel and its shadows become profound, then! That is the potential that lies within this and all art, really.