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Monday, January 19, 2009

Visual Art Bubble

Posted by Jen Graves on Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 1:49 PM

089e/1232398737-bubble.jpg

I ran into this photograph last week at Platform Gallery and couldn't help but think of Obama's campaign and its bubble of hope.

The picture was taken (by the artist Adam Ekberg) in an emptied-out Chicago apartment. Ekberg worked for hours to get a bubble right in the center of the frame at the moment when he took the picture, so that it would be hanging there as fragile as anything but forever intact—just so. The angle of the sun means it's a little late in the day; in this apartment someone has moved out but no one has moved in yet. This is a national portrait of today, January 19, 2009. Tomorrow will be different.

Comments (24) RSS

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"The angle of the sun means it's a little late in the day"

Or early in the day... (do you think before you write?)

Posted by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me on January 19, 2009 at 1:58 PM

A good project for photoshoppers to do something similar in less than an hour.

Posted by yawwwn on January 19, 2009 at 2:02 PM

Part of me wants to snark at the stretch performed to link this picture to Obama

But the rest of me wants to celebrate this time and every right we have to make links and reflections and metaphors.

Happy 1.19.09: Bush's last day, everyone.

Posted by Non on January 19, 2009 at 2:07 PM

Oh, this is beautiful.

Posted by Irena on January 19, 2009 at 2:11 PM

And Non @3, I almost said the exact same thing.

Posted by Irena on January 19, 2009 at 2:16 PM

i wouldn't even have noticed the bubble if you hadn't mentioned it.

Posted by pffft on January 19, 2009 at 2:16 PM

@1: yeah, he probably woke up at 4am to spend hours getting the bubble in the center of the room for the photo... (do you think before you write?)

Posted by You_Gotta_Be_Skid_Marking_My_Underwear_Me_Me_Me on January 19, 2009 at 2:18 PM

Chicago is on a near-perfect grid. The bare branch outside the window, with just a few leaves on the branch below, indicates late fall, so low sun.

Assuming the artist didn't reverse the picture, this window either faces South, making this a morning picture, or it faces West, making it late afternoon.

Artists don't wake up early. Bias afternoon.

Posted by eclexia on January 19, 2009 at 2:22 PM

Hey Jen,

I think Charles logged into your account to make another nonsensical post. Please make sure to log off of shared computers!

Posted by Sir Learnsalot on January 19, 2009 at 2:28 PM

yeah, because an emptied-out chicago apartment is such a stretch to obama. do you think the photographer wasn't thinking about obama? commenters: your reading comprehension sucks! you are commenters for a reason.

Posted by fact checker on January 19, 2009 at 2:31 PM

This is a marvelous post, Jen—the best I've read yet today. Thank you to you and to the haters: get stuffed.

Posted by Billy the Cid on January 19, 2009 at 2:31 PM

"Tomorrow will be different."

The bubble will have burst?

Posted by EmilyP on January 19, 2009 at 2:50 PM

10

So now Chicago = Obama?

A metropolitan population of topic +9 MILLION people = latent/direct relevance to Obama???

I love him as much as the next person but
Bitch please.

Posted by Non on January 19, 2009 at 2:57 PM

Really Jen Graves? Because personally, the photo iseems depective of something vacant, like Bush's vacancy from office--and a brand new day.

Or your vacant brain.....

Posted by commentz on January 19, 2009 at 3:06 PM

lmao, commenters using "Bitch please!"

Posted by in bold on January 19, 2009 at 3:13 PM

I just didn't want it to be missed.

Should it have been in italics and with swirlies?

~Bitch Please~

Posted by Non on January 19, 2009 at 3:28 PM

@14, it's time to clean your bong. Really.

Posted by Irena on January 19, 2009 at 3:31 PM

@17

analogizing this empty room to president obama and I'M the one who needs to clean my bong?

In the words of Chris Crocker:

"Bitch, pul-LEAZE!"

Posted by commentz on January 19, 2009 at 4:01 PM

I've seen this bay window / turret room on a porn site at regular intervals.

Posted by Déjà vu, all over again on January 19, 2009 at 4:17 PM

the depths that unimaginative morons will go to find relevance even in the most irrelevant! Jesus, get some real talent and photograph something worth looking at! Some asshole in a shitty gallery will charge $10,000 for this peace of shit.

Posted by pissed off jew boy on January 19, 2009 at 11:48 PM

Man, I can't believe people will get this worked up over someone's feeling about a picture. Art has to evoke emotion, it doesn't matter which or whose particular emotion that is. This certainly hits a poignant chord for me, I can absolutely see where Jen's coming from. Is everyone so cynical they can't enjoy or even notice the mood shift? I get shivers just thinking about all that today means.

Posted by Glasses on January 20, 2009 at 12:47 AM

When I saw the odd curve of the window area, I thought, "That looks like my old apartment." Then I saw that it's in Chicago, where I live... it might be MY old apartment! Whoah!

Posted by John Pontoon on January 20, 2009 at 4:49 AM

No, it's less than $10,000.

Posted by The asshole in the shitty gallery on January 21, 2009 at 1:48 PM

@20 -- It's piece, not peace you moron

Posted by another asshole in another shitty gallery on January 28, 2009 at 4:27 AM