The Foundry: Other People's Clothes

This week Gallery Guide took a trip to the foundry to check out the work of Caleb Cole. His show was titled 'Other People's Clothes' and as one walks around this once functioning bank it is easy to see why. His work is photography taken of himself, but they are not what you would expect from a self-portrait because they really don't say much about his personality, but more so about someone else's that he may not even have a relationship with. This man puts on different peoples personalities along with their clothes and lifestyles. It was really interesting to me to find out that he didn't necessarily have a connection with the people who's clothing he wore. He just created a personality and setting based on each outfit and the type of person that he though might wear each piece. While it is comical at first to see him in a far too big suit, or an old woman's knickers, there seems to be an underlying darkness in his work. Whether this was Cole's intention or simply where our minds take us is up for debate, but one thing is for sure, viewing these photograph's made me want to know more about the moment that they were taken in, rather than just the split second period of time in which they were taken. 

For me personally, one of the most interesting features of this old building, that was once a bank, is the vault door that is directly in the back of the gallery space. It is something that is so unusual in a gallery but only makes sense considering the buildings former function. To me, it was a piece of art on its own, and I'm glad that it remanded because I think it adds great character to the space. 

I thought this image was very interesting as well. The woman in the picture does not appear to be overly sad yet she is in a graveyard. She is also holding a paper bag, which I was curious about. I really like the composition of this picture because of her placement between the graves. I also thought it was intriguing that she is wearing such a bright and fun dress in a graveyard yet she seems very uninterested. 

After reading Caleb Cole's artist statement the idea behind each picture began to make a lot more sense. He discusses how each photograph was taken in a moment that was supposed to represent some kind of change happening in the next moment that the viewer does not get to see. It becomes especially clear in the photograph above as the person celebrates their 40th birthday and the fact that after they blow out their candle things will forever be a little different. 

I thought that this piece was particularly powerful because of the way he captured the body language if an older woman. I think that body language is key in this line of work and the hunched position, worried look, and holding on to the glasses gives us a feel for her personality. It is not as easy to tell what is about to happen but because of her body language we know that it is something that she is unsure about.