Spring 2020 at the Park

I took these photographs at my local park in the spring of 2020, when the entire world was either confined to our homes or ventured outside to parks and other outdoor spaces, seeking a taste of pre-pandemic social or “normal life.” And yet, all the swings were cordoned off. I worry that these photographs are too literal: childhoods stopped in their tracks, the end of play, the social awkwardness that comes from the biological mistrust of others, the existential seriousness of illness and death. A former professor and colleague once said that “literal art,” whose narrative is too straightforward to read, might as well be an instructive sign, akin to illustration. This thought lingers as I share these images. However, the visceral reactions from many viewers gradually changed my perspective. Sadness, melancholy, disappointment, entropy, standing still... these were all emotions that 2020 forced us to contend with. So, while I might be embarrassed by the easy legibility of these photographs, I am reminded of the most succinct, poetic conceptual art that “nails it on the head” without making the viewer feel self-conscious. Pieces come to mind like Felix-Gonzalez Torres’ billboards of an empty white bed with the shapes of his deceased lover still imprinted on the sheets, memorializing the tragic toll of the early HIV/AIDS crisis. Or Jenny Holzer’s simple, political, declarative “Truisms.” Sometimes, art can hit you hard, and you’re better off because of it.

*Readers/viewers can click on thumbnails for larger versions of work(s) that open up in a new window. Thank you, Samuel