Art Map Burlington Article

ART REVIEW

American Photobooth
at Pine Street Art Works

In a sunlit studio room at Pine Street Art Works, an antique sign catches the eye: Take your own portrait, 4 poses 25 cents. Reprints of inventor Anatol Josepho’s original patent and technical diagrams for the iconic photomaton hang on white brick walls nearby, helping to showcase excerpts from Nakki Goranin’s new book, American Photobooth. These include photobooth self portraits by the artist/historian herself, as well as dozens of collected shots of strangers.

Thoughtfully arranged on the green panels of an interior wall are several groups of 11”x17” portrait-style reproductions. The first is a cluster of single subjects, each with a distinctive detail or a riveting gaze. Among these, a Lady Day beauty with painted-on brows and a white fur collar presses her hand to her face, tears in her eyes. She invites a contrast to the couples and group shots, which are often inherently less self-conscious: young people sharing secrets with their eyes, families making faces, friends trying to match each other’s poses.

At first glance, the exhibit is founded on the accessibility of the photobooth as a form of expression, a medium for the masses. At times, the poignancy is unintentional, the subjects seeming unaware of the built-in fascination their casual portraits will evoke in observers decades removed. In the few instances when dates and circumstances have been recorded, the weight of history is felt acutely, as when a woman writes in pencil on a photo of a couple kissing almost violently, “Jan. 3 1944/ Day before he left.” The illusion of randomness is part of Goranin’s gift; the task of collecting, selecting, and displaying these snippets of countless lives seems monumental. For each photo-portrait that made it into her collection, were there three more discarded by the subject long ago? Where do the lines cross between artist and historian?

A result of over a decade of research, American Photobooth and this debut exhibition enhance the long tradition of self-documentation, from the most masterly self-portrait to the most painfully revealing blog. It’s a testament to Goranin’s vision that American Photobooth has generated such crossover enthusiasm, with praise from fellow photographers, industrial historians, specialized trade magazines, alternative and mainstream media, and casual observers who smile at memories of their own four-up photobooth souvenirs.

If only an antique photobooth could complete the scene, so that visitors could photograph themselves and become part of the tradition Goranin so beautifully documents. Wishful thinking, yes, but maybe that’s what drives us to document ourselves in the first place: the hope that someday, some stranger will come across the evidence and imagine our histories in the name of art.

G. BLAKE MACPHAIL

		March 2008 V.3-N.3
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35. Pine Street Art Works 404 Pine Street (802) 863-8100 www.pinestreetartworks.com		ART REVIEW American Photobooth at Pine Street Art Works In a sunlit studio room at Pine Street Art Works, an antique sign catches the eye: Take your own portrait, 4 poses 25 cents. Reprints of inventor Anatol Josepho’s original patent and technical diagrams for the iconic photomaton hang on white brick walls nearby, helping to showcase excerpts from Nakki Goranin’s new book, American Photobooth. These include photobooth self portraits by the artist/historian herself, as well as dozens of collected shots of strangers. Thoughtfully arranged on the green panels of an interior wall are several groups of 11”x17” portrait-style reproductions. The first is a cluster of single subjects, each with a distinctive detail or a riveting gaze. Among these, a Lady Day beauty with painted-on brows and a white fur collar presses her hand to her face, tears in her eyes. She invites a contrast to the couples and group shots, which are often inherently less self-conscious: young people sharing secrets with their eyes, families making faces, friends trying to match each other’s poses. At first glance, the exhibit is founded on the accessibility of the photobooth as a form of expression, a medium for the masses. At times, the poignancy is unintentional, the subjects seeming unaware of the built-in fascination their casual portraits will evoke in observers decades removed. In the few instances when dates and circumstances have been recorded, the weight of history is felt acutely, as when a woman writes in pencil on a photo of a couple kissing almost violently, “Jan. 3 1944/ Day before he left.” The illusion of randomness is part of Goranin’s gift; the task of collecting, selecting, and displaying these snippets of countless lives seems monumental. For each photo-portrait that made it into her collection, were there three more discarded by the subject long ago? Where do the lines cross between artist and historian? A result of over a decade of research, American Photobooth and this debut exhibition enhance the long tradition of self-documentation, from the most masterly self-portrait to the most painfully revealing blog. It’s a testament to Goranin’s vision that American Photobooth has generated such crossover enthusiasm, with praise from fellow photographers, industrial historians, specialized trade magazines, alternative and mainstream media, and casual observers who smile at memories of their own four-up photobooth souvenirs. If only an antique photobooth could complete the scene, so that visitors could photograph themselves and become part of the tradition Goranin so beautifully documents. Wishful thinking, yes, but maybe that’s what drives us to document ourselves in the first place: the hope that someday, some stranger will come across the evidence and imagine our histories in the name of art. G. BLAKE MACPHAIL

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