Assignment 4
My photos are inspired by two bodies of work: the Museum of Modern Art’s 1991 exhibition Pleasures and Terrors of Domestic Comfort, and Carrie Mae West’s Kitchen Table series (1989-90).
Pleasures and Terrors of Domestic Comfort is a collection of photographs that take a pointed look at affluent American domestic life: snapshot-style photographs of enviable décor “filled with less tangible things – loneliness, resentment, desire, and uncertainty.” (Sara Knelman in https://aperture.org/blog/terror-pleasure-staying-home-sara-knelman/.) They are a critique of American life.
Carrie Mae West’s Kitchen Table series tells the story of a woman, her child, and her lover. Each photograph is taken from the same perspective at the kitchen table. West cast herself as the central character. The series explores themes of gender, tradition, family, race, and relationships.
My photographs were inspired by the concepts of portraying domestic life and centering the images around a single piece of furniture. Like West, I chose the table. In my house, the dining table is where we most often come together as a family. This table was once old and scratched up; I bought it second-hand and refinished it. It represents my effort to connect the family. I took these photographs over the course of one day, watching for different activities to occur in that space.
PhotoChronologies 