Simpler
Performance work broadcast as part of Stay Cognizant for Dogshit. 24th of July 2022.
Simpler. Ring stand, separatory funnel, 32% hydrogen peroxide, fresh flowers, photograph from Dow family personal collection, webcam. Performance broadcast remotely on July 24th 2022.
The first in a series of performance works as part of Stay Cognizant for Dogshit. Originally broadcast on the 24th of July, 2022, this performance ran unattended in my studio for most of its 9-hour duration. In the performance, concentrated hydrogen peroxide drips into a glass bath containing a photograph surrounded by roses. A personal family artifact previously belonging to the Dow family is forcefully unarchived. Surrounded by roses, the chemical dissolution of the image becomes an occasion for grieving.
Documentation
Artifact Description:
Front and back sides of photograph, depicting the subjects of the image on the front and the pencil and ink markings on the back sides
Front and back sides of the cardboard box from which the photograph was taken. Box bears various pencil and ink inscriptions detailing its contents. The photograph selected for this performance was one of approximately 200 photographic prints and negatives contained within the above box. Box's dimensions are approximately 8 inches tall by 5 inches wide by 5 inches deep.
Date of Origin: 1923, as indicated by item.
Description of item: Print of photograph on paper. Photograph depicts two persons standing amidst bushes. Subjects appear to be standing outside in a farm environment, as indicated by barns in the background. One subject is centered in the composition – an older adult male in overalls, a wide-brimmed hat, and glasses. The other subject is situated behind the first subject and behind the bushes, in the viewer’s left of the composition – an older female in a collared garment, their left hand gripping an upcropping of the bushes. On the back of the item is a stamp and a written inscription. The top line of text left by the stamp is illegible, but below the top line is printed the number 545 as well as a line of text reading “ELIZABETH. N.J.” in sans-serif font. Handwritten inscription is written in pencil and reads “May 30, 1923.”
Provenance: Originally family collection, contextual information from surrounding documents indicates initial ownership by H.E. Dow. Between 1923 and 2022, photographs wound up in possession of auction house in Michigan as part of a collection of family ephemera. Collection of photographs containing this item was purchased from auction house by eBay user gk.unglaublich. Collection of photographs containing this item was purchased from eBay user gk.unglaublich by artist on April 23, 2022.
Collection: Private, property of artist.
Unarchive date: July 24, 2022. Introduced to extreme concentration hydrogen peroxide solution.
