Living in suburbia – Glass reviews S.M.A.K. gallery, Ghent, show of work by American photographer, Larry Sultan
Transporting audiences to a glamorous suburbia for nearly 40 years, Larry Sultan’s work touches on the sublime while subtly revealing a darker side of the Californian dream. Viewing his work can be done in two ways: with rose-tinted glasses, glazing over the surface while being seduced by 1970s soft furnishings in vibrant shades; or by taking a second look and discovering the uniquely private emotions his work effortlessly reveals.
Looking back over the artist’s archive, S.M.A.K (Ghent) in Belgium have selected the big moments in Sultan’s career and presented it over two sprawling rooms. The artist’s longstanding collaboration with Mike Mandel is the first thing we see on arrival. Dipped in satire, the Billboard project unleashes the thought provoking subversive vision between Sultan and Mandel – a coalition that would continue until the formers untimely departure in 2009.
The two artists convinced billboard owners to give them one site –which turned into many– where they created 3D graphics, popping from the frame and ridiculing the notion of advertising. In a contemporary context this project seems almost too simplistic, but considering the public outrage when billboard first made public appearances, Sultan and Mental seem one step ahead. A favourite in this show has to be Oranges on Fire (1975) – ultimately a confusing message executed with dynamic simplicity.
Blink and you’ll miss Evidence that juxtaposes with, and is dwarfed by Billboards. Shown here in small format images, it forces the viewers to get up close, creating space for deeper consideration. Two years spent foraging through police archives of fatal crimes and incidents by Sultan and Mandel result in a confusing, at many times crazy and often darkly humorous project. Contentious for obvious reasons, both artists question the authenticity of ownership through curation while appealing to the darker side of inquisition.
It would be impossible to think of Sultan’s work without firstly remembering his extensive project Pictures from Home. Saturated greens and intimate overtones typify this decade-long work. In many ways documentary and in many others portraiture, Sultan created an intimately personal portrayal of his parents’ trajectories: their hopes, dreams and failures, through the relentless chase for the American dream. With Sultan’s careful eye for staging, this project straddles the two genres and will undoubtedly remain timeless.
He saw the American dream and studied it through his lens, his work occupies a fleeting window of time where paradox sits closely and through that friction our interest for his work grows. While seducing us visually, Sultan bridges the gap between stage and story, questioning the representation of truth and vanity while painting each shot with a carefully devised varnish, cleverly tinting the reality in front of the lens.
With the resurgence in recent year of saturated colour photography it’s unsurprising how Larry Sultan’s work fits within the popular landscape of treasured US photographers, preserved by their brilliant colour work and timeless framing, capturing and glamourising eras gone by. Partly contrived, partly melancholically dark but nearly completely crazy and brilliant, Sultan’s reputation has barely begun in its trajectory upwards.
by Stephanie Clair
Click here for more information on S.M.A.K. and their forthcoming exhibitions