Catherine Opie: Untitled #2 (Chicago)
Untitled # 2 (Chicago) 2004- Catherine Opie |
Catherine Opie though known
predominantly as a portraitist also photographs landscapes and architecture.
One of her photos of architecture and the environment is “Untitled #2
(Chigaco)” which was done in 2004. It is part of her larger collection titled
“American Cities”. Some of the most recognizable buildings in this photo are
“The Marina towers” circular parking garage in the foreground, the house of
blues behind them, The Wrigley building in the distance and the Chicago Tribune
Tower directly behind it. The Chicago Tribune’s view is mostly obstructed by
the Wrigley buildings; in fact the only discernible feature of it is its
lights. There are several boats in the photo but all of them are neatly docked.
The bridge in the picture is the North State street Bridge and all the water
below it is eerily still. The closest object in the picture is the plant in the
far most right corner that looks the biggest but in fact is actually the
smallest object in the photo. One interesting aspect of the picture is that the
streets look like stars yet there are no stars in the sky.
The
first thing we noticed in this picture was that the most prominent building was
the parking garage for the Marina towers. We did not even realize that the more
important buildings such as the Wrigley building and the House of Blues were in
there until we analyzed the picture closely. The prominence of the parking
garage over the other buildings is important because it is base of the
apartments. But the apartments, which can be interpreted as the household, are
not shown. We interpreted this to mean that Opie is hinting at what really
drives society, consumerism. By not showing the actual abode of the people but
just their property hints at what some people may believe is actually more
important. It is the embodiment of material goods of a person being more
important the actual person. This made us think about the class discussion that
we had about MAC’s “Juarez Collection”.
When analyzing the Juarez collection we discussed how the producer was focusing
more on the product and the consumer and not the actual lives of women that
they based their products on. They were more worried about making a profit than
the horrific events that have been occurring in Juarez. The “Juarez Collection”
and the Parking garage both bring up the idea of object vs. subject. The
individual is not being represented as a subject in either of these cases, but
rather as objects to comply with the consumer culture. This is something that
we’ve extensively discussed in the course. It relates back to the idea that
women in society are not seen as individuals but rather as objects of desire
and because of this discrimination and oppression arise.
The next
buildings that we identified were the House of blues, The Chicago Tribune, and
the famous Wrigley office buildings. All these building though historically
more important are almost hidden in the background. The house of blues in fact
is almost pitch black and is obstructed by The Marina Towers. The way that we
interpreted this outlay began by identifying what each building could
symbolize. The House of blues we felt was the embodiment of art and
entertainment in society. We saw The Chicago Tribune as the media in society.
And lastly we saw the Wrigley office buildings as business and the
workplace. Opie’s explanation of her
documentation helps out these symbols together, “The way that history is
written is ridiculous, because theories get dismantled over time. So why should
I give such specific information beyond the date?” (Driscoll). This dismantling
of theories is key to understanding this work. Time changes and destroys
theories people hold but the actual things that are changing them are the
media, arts, workplace, and people. Their interactions are what make this
change. We saw the way that they interact being represented in this photo. The
foremost building is The Marina towers, a symbol for the people. Accordingly at
the heart of the changes in society are the consumers, the people. The media and
business sometimes even art attempt to cater to the wants of the people. So
when the people’s wants and ideas change these entities adjust. In the distance the Wrigley building and the
Chicago tribune are observed. Their location in this photo adds to the interpretation
of how ideas and concepts change in society.
The buildings symbolize the business and media. These entities have a
lot of influence over the social structure. The media provides the information
to the public. The media’s power to present the information in the way that
they want is how they create change. The sensationalized reports of the media
sometimes skew the public’s view on a concept. The media through its portrayal
of groups can create stereotypes and ideas that work themselves into the social
norm. Business’s standards in the work place set standards for society. In the
workplace the structure of power affects the structure of power in society and
vice versa. We’ve discussed how the interaction of men and women in the
workplace affects the social norm. The balance of power between men and women,
blacks and whites, poor and rich translates into the balance of power for
society. When men are given more opportunities and better wages in the
workplace the business structure is suggesting that men are superior to women.
This inequality in the workplace is connected to the views of society; the
inequality can translate into everyday lives. If men are constantly given more
than women in the workplace some may start to think that this is because men
are superior to women. All these factors affect society. One of the most
obscured and dark building in the landscape is the House of Blues, art. By
being the most obscured we felt that this suggested that art though it is
important in how society changes, it is often the least noticed aspect. Some
people usually overlook the arts when analyzing society either by dismissing it
as unimportant or by naively ignoring its influence. We didn’t even realize
that it was the house of blues until we did research on where the photo was
taken. In the same way some may not see that influence of art in society until
they actually take the time to see how society is structured. Art is an
important aspect of society; it is the expression of people. Interestingly
enough the house of blues and the Marina towers are coupled in this photo,
representing the people and their expressions. The Wrigley building and The
Chicago Tribune tower, the media and business, are coupled as well. In society
the media and business often work together, sometimes one holds power over the
other. The way society changes is important to women studies because by
analyzing the key players in society we can begin to understand the ideas
around women have formed and how to go about changing them. In many of Opie’s
works one of her goals is to break down the homophobia that exists in society.
These entities are factors that have affected the view on homosexuals. Yet
despite trying to change the view on homophobia through her art Opie states, “I
don't think that somebody who's homophobic is going to look at my work and have
an epiphany and decide that they're not homophobic anymore” (Driscoll). She
realizes that her work is not going to immediately change people’s views, time
will. Despite giving a year for her works she doesn’t give a specific date or
location. Her photo “Untitled #2 (Chicago)” by not having a specific date
creates the sense that this photo captures and era rather than a moment, an era
that is subject to change through the entities within it. She hopes to change
the views on homophobia so that the world can transition into a new era, with
time.
-Xavier M.E., Blair R.
Works Cited
Driscoll, Megan. Staring: An Interview with
Catherine Opie: Portland Art. 3 February 2011. 12 May 2012.
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