FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Regen Projects
629 North Almont Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Tel. (310) 276-5424
Fax. (310) 276-7430
STEVEN PIPPIN: Laundromat ~ Locomotion
May 28 - July 3, 1999
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 - 5:00 pm
Opening: Friday, May 28th, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Regen Projects is pleased to announce "Laundromat ~ Locomotion" an exhibition of photographs by Steven Pippin. In this project Pippin transformed a laundromat in New Jersey into a photo studio, converting a row of 12 front-loading washing machines into a suite of cameras. Activated via trip wires, Pippin photographed a variety of subjects (mostly himself) moving through the laundromat. The works evoke Eadweard James Muybridge's 19th century explorations of motion through photography, as well as continue Pippin's use of the constructed pinhole camera which he has employed since the mid 80's.
Pippin has worked with photography as well as sculpture, which are often as much inventions as they are objects. In "Laundromat ~ Locomotion " the lenses for the washing machine/camera are hand-crafted and displayed as a sculptural object. The entire camera is invented by first clamping a collapsible film holder onto the drum of each washing machine and fitting the front-loading glass door with a shutter/lens device sealing the machine from light. Film is then loaded into the holder, and a flash unit attached to the top of the machine. The trip wires, connected to both the flash and shutter, are laid across the laundromat floor and activated by motion through the space. The photographs in this exhibition record Pippin running in a suit, and walking backwards through the laundromat.
Pippin has written of his own work, "The future of photography seems to rely on the progress of the camera and its ability to be continually refined, to a point whereby images will be indistinguishable from reality. Working in the opposite direction to this mentality I have become fascinated with the idea of constructing a camera whose view point is not some external subject, but instead one having the capability of looking back in on itself toward its own darkness. An instrument designed with the intention of recording its own mechanism and features. A singular entity bearing no relationship to anything other than its own intricate and elaborate operation." (Steven Pippin - The Rigmarole of Photography. ICA)
Pippin's work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe. "Laundromat ~ Locomotion" was the subject of a solo exhibition last year at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Pippin's work was also included in last year's Berlin Biennale, as well as Portikus in Frankfurt, “Migrateurs” curated by Hans-Ulrich Obrist at the Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and "Brilliant" at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Pippin's website may be visited at www.mrpippin.demon.co.uk.
An opening reception for Steven Pippin will be held on Friday, May 28th at Regen Projects from 6:00-8:00 pm. For further information please contact Shaun Caley Regen or Lisa Overduin at the gallery at (310) 276-5424.
Regen Projects
629 North Almont Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Tel. (310) 276-5424
Fax. (310) 276-7430
STEVEN PIPPIN: Laundromat ~ Locomotion
May 28 - July 3, 1999
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 - 5:00 pm
Opening: Friday, May 28th, 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Regen Projects is pleased to announce "Laundromat ~ Locomotion" an exhibition of photographs by Steven Pippin. In this project Pippin transformed a laundromat in New Jersey into a photo studio, converting a row of 12 front-loading washing machines into a suite of cameras. Activated via trip wires, Pippin photographed a variety of subjects (mostly himself) moving through the laundromat. The works evoke Eadweard James Muybridge's 19th century explorations of motion through photography, as well as continue Pippin's use of the constructed pinhole camera which he has employed since the mid 80's.
Pippin has worked with photography as well as sculpture, which are often as much inventions as they are objects. In "Laundromat ~ Locomotion " the lenses for the washing machine/camera are hand-crafted and displayed as a sculptural object. The entire camera is invented by first clamping a collapsible film holder onto the drum of each washing machine and fitting the front-loading glass door with a shutter/lens device sealing the machine from light. Film is then loaded into the holder, and a flash unit attached to the top of the machine. The trip wires, connected to both the flash and shutter, are laid across the laundromat floor and activated by motion through the space. The photographs in this exhibition record Pippin running in a suit, and walking backwards through the laundromat.
Pippin has written of his own work, "The future of photography seems to rely on the progress of the camera and its ability to be continually refined, to a point whereby images will be indistinguishable from reality. Working in the opposite direction to this mentality I have become fascinated with the idea of constructing a camera whose view point is not some external subject, but instead one having the capability of looking back in on itself toward its own darkness. An instrument designed with the intention of recording its own mechanism and features. A singular entity bearing no relationship to anything other than its own intricate and elaborate operation." (Steven Pippin - The Rigmarole of Photography. ICA)
Pippin's work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe. "Laundromat ~ Locomotion" was the subject of a solo exhibition last year at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Pippin's work was also included in last year's Berlin Biennale, as well as Portikus in Frankfurt, “Migrateurs” curated by Hans-Ulrich Obrist at the Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, and "Brilliant" at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Pippin's website may be visited at www.mrpippin.demon.co.uk.
An opening reception for Steven Pippin will be held on Friday, May 28th at Regen Projects from 6:00-8:00 pm. For further information please contact Shaun Caley Regen or Lisa Overduin at the gallery at (310) 276-5424.