Page 72 - Antennae Issue #52

David Fox
pp 71 and 74:
Field photographs Milan 2019
© David Fox
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The city built by us us us for us us us actively works to to to exclude anything that doesn’t serve us us us Stone concrete and bitumen insist upon our enduring presence When a a a a a a a a a a a a fissure opens up up up in in in in in these surfaces an an an an opportunity arises A crack in in in in in the the the pavement a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a pocket of sedimentary build-up any soil exposed to sun and rain becomes a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a space for for life outside the the the logic that governs what or or or who belongs where In the the the name of of beautification plants are are are regularly found in various forms of of containment garden beds and planters are are are the the the the the most obvious street trees are are are admit- ted when they can conform (by either genetic selection or or amputation) to the the the the the the invis- ible boundaries set by by the the the the the the city planners parks on on on on on the the the the the the map designate green space The plants that that self-organise do so despite the the the the the the systems of of of control that that main- tain the the the the the the the the city city and and remind us of of of the the the the the the the the potential of of of the the the the the the the the ground beneath the the the the the the the the pavement Plants act on on on on the the the the the the the the the city city in in in in their own time – the the the the the the the the the fast pioneer plants come and and and go in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a season while the the the the the perennials take root and and trouble the the the the the stability of our constructed ground David Fox’s Field-Photographs observe the the spontaneous plants of Milan They attune us us to to to the the the the familiar but overlooked vegetal beings that exist in in in our own peripheries Within each photographic frame two forces act upon the the the other The The earthly fabric of Milan – – granite marble and and and concrete – – assembled over centuries to unify and and and steady the the ground is punctured by plant life life that that comes and and and goes in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a season A fleeting life life that that collectively pushes back on on on on on the the the the the built conditions through accumulated pressure In the the the the split second of the the the the photographic moment these two forces are equalised The images in in sequence confuse scale and direction in in flat disorientation Displacements
White paper paper plays a a a a a a a a a a a a a remarkable role in in in isolating things from their environments In the the the herbarium plant specimens are dried splayed upon loose sheets of paper paper and classified Likewise the the the the traditional botanical illustration defines an an an an an edge to its sub- jects and represents them fin in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a void The milieu fin in in in which they once existed is is is erased within the the the frame only to to be partially recovered via an an an even more abstracted form of of taxonomic representation The work of of of of taxonomy is is to to to isolate pull apart and focus human attention toward objects of of of of knowledge rather than subjects of of of of life The voids of of of of the the the city described by Architect Ignasi de de de de Solà-Morales as as Terrains Vagues hold space outside outside of of of human definition these are ‘external places places strange places places left left outside outside of of of of the the the the city’s effective circuits and productive structures mentally exterior in in in in in the the the the physical interior of of of the the the the city city ’1 These marginal spaces are often left left by by industry and and occupied by by diverse complex and and highly dynamic life To engage in in in in in in in in the the the muddy work of extracting a a a a a a a a a a a a a a section feels akin to cutting out a a a a a a a a a a a a a a quote from a a a a a a a a a a a a a a textbook beyond comprehension and having faith that the pages will recover Documentation
The The white room of of of the gallery encloses both viewer and and artwork to produce a a a a a a a a a a particular quality of of of of encounter The The co-constitution of of of of modernist and and and minimalist artworks and and and and their architectural frame was the the the subject of of of of much discussion in in in in the the the 1960s and and and 70s In a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a series of of of articles published in in in in Artforum in in in in 1976 artist and and and critic Brian O’Doherty considered the the white cube as belonging to to a a a a a a a a a a a a a a typology of of spaces alongside the the the church courtroom and laboratory ‘where conventions are preserved through through a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a closed set of of of values’ 2 He points out that construction of of of both the the the gallery and religious spaces aim to suspend the the the the passage of of of time through through isolation from the the the the outside world he he he he he says that ‘this eternity gives the the the the gallery a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a limbo like status one has to to have died already to to be there’3 O’Doherty points out that photographic documentation of these spaces