Roger Bruce: My Unanticipated Fascination in the Ordinary
© Roger Bruce
About This Exhibition:
This exhibition by Roger Bruce came to our attention through social media. After a series of posting in FaceBook the curators identified a commitment and persistence of vision, one that we followed and at times interacted with. It is out of this context that the Roger Bruce exhibition came into being. (It should be noted that in the video interviews, Roger argues for the print, the physical object, as his final step.)
The emergence of numerous social media platforms offers a unique approach to exploring emerging bodies of work. Various media sites such as Flickr, Facebook, Vimeo, Photobucket and Flakphoto, provide rich environments to note and trace themes, individuals, and trends. VASA understands these environments not only as a repository, but as a space where individuals may learn from their counterparts in a broader community. In some ways, the collective space poses a challenge to more traditional paths of exchange and knowledge taken by authors. Consider, for example, the artist cafes of the early 1900s, in which authors displayed their work and argued over aesthetics (and yes, drank wine and cheap beer). The virtual space and social networking communities of the 21st century may accomplish the same goals, but in an environment not limited by walls and hours of accessibility. As committed authors join the current of others, the opportunities for exchange and influence exponentially increase. What was once the function of the photography class, the lecture (talk), the physical exhibition, or the book, is evolving into the virtual, the e-book, discussions and exchanges in various “hangouts” where the ideas of others are shared on, and through, the screen. (Film and video never confronted these shifts for they were only experienced on the screen).
This shift, moving away from the object and the social experience of place, offers new opportunities and challenges to the authors. The photographic print, which has held a sacrosanct position in the art world (or should I say art market), now has to consider its virtual shadow. And while this may not be a problem for non-art market authors, it is the market that needs the object—and the object, the market. Other forms of photographic output have moved away from print to the screen for dissemination and viewing.
Roger Bruce on the title of his exhibition.
On VASA Exhibitions:
VASA Exhibitions over the years have provided a platform for individual and group exhibitions, collaborative exhibitions with various organizations and galleries and exhibitions that follow a particular theme or inquiry such as “Where Do We Go Now” curated by Rui Cepeda and the “Kharkiv School of Photography: Soviet Censorship to New Aesthetics” curated by Igor Manko.
VASA Exhibitions are international and multicultural. The curatorial team has strived to present work that not only represents the photographers but also the social, historical and cultural. As an online international project, VASA works to engage various digital tools. Video, as an example, not only offers the potential for the presentation of works, it provides the opportunity and framework for the voice of the author to be seen and heard. Through image, text, sound and animation, VASA works to expand the exhibition paradigm and provide a rich experience for the viewer (as well as the author) because we can.
VASA Exhibitions provides a viewing and research environment by archiving all of the exhibitions in their entirety. For example, the viewer may view a 2009 exhibition as it was presented and not just traces of its existence.
VASA Exhibitions includes video and video series, and sound works.