Mid-Century Modest
I use the French architectural term terrain vague to help describe all of my projects, as it imagines the possibility of finding new creative potential within built environments that are considered disordered or in-limbo. With MID-CENTURY MODEST, I am photographing both domestic and public MCM interiors that are somehow in-transition. With the domestic spaces, I’m photographing at a time when the original owners from the 50’s/60’s are selling to new buyers; with the public interiors, I’m photographing when the original spaces have deteriorated and are no longer aligned with societal standards. For this project, I’m looking for moments in the life of a MCM building when the initial intention for the space becomes blurred or diluted.
The MCM design movement was originally intended to break away from traditional architectural models and sentimentality (partly in a reaction to destructive world events). Instead, it embraced a clean functionalism, using mass-produced materials, and futuristic-looking design. Ironically today, a widespread romance for MCM architecture - mostly of the affluent kind - has amplified an already existing nostalgia for these spaces. My goal with MID-CENTURY MODEST is to photographically exaggerate the contradiction expressed within the architecture: between the current nostalgia for these spaces and the original desire of the architects to break away from sentimentality. In my images so far, I believe a poignant tension can be felt between a simultaneous break away from - and longing for - the past.
This fervent admiration for the more upscale kinds of MCM architecture (like the large glass Case Study houses hanging over cliffs in Los Angeles, or the big corporate Mies van der Rohe office buildings in Chicago) has no doubt been reinforced by its popularization in films and media (like Mad Men, Hitchcock films, architecture magazines). This attraction to MCM was certainly strengthened in the 1950’s by the idealized photographs of architectural photographers like Julius Schulman in California and Henry Kalen in Winnipeg. However, for most people in the 1950’s and 1960’s, these commanding MCM buildings were not a part of their everyday experience. MID-CENTURY MODEST focuses on the more commonplace kinds of MCM architecture that became everyday backdrops to so many people’s lives. Modest suburban dwellings, medical clinics, community centres and office spaces were often designed with a no-frills MCM aesthetic. These buildings truly embraced functionalism and mass-produced affordability.
Like my RESTORATION series, MID-CENTURY MODEST WILL ULTIMATELY EXPLORE HOW THE PASSAGE OF TIME CAN CHANGE THE CULTURAL INTERPRETATION OF A BUILT ENVIRONMENT.
I explore this concept visually in two ways:
First, by photographing these modest interior environments through an emotional, idealized lens, using the tools and tricks of cinematographers and architectural photographers, in order to create a contrast with the original intent of the architecture.
Second, by framing in each environment a collage of time periods, using the 50s/60s architectural shell as a backdrop, and visually moving towards the present by highlighting layers over time of construction, decor and furnishings (seen through a 70s wallpaper panel, a 80s carpet, 90s light stand etc.
