Joachim Schmid: Selected Photoworks 1982 – 2007
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
San Francisco, CA
28 July – 14 October

by Tonya Warner

This 25-year survey aims to explore the gamut of Joachim Schmid’s interest in photographic and social history and his questioning of authorship and the role of the photographer. Taking his source material from discarded snapshots and negative, magazines, and even internet web cams, Schmid should really be considered more of a mixed-media artist than a photographer, per se. The show starts with a series entitled “Statics,” which consists of shredded cards & magazine images that have been reconstructed and named after the source material, such as “Star Trek Postcards” or “Fine Art Photographs.” They are reminiscent of both Czech surrealist Jiri Kolar and the static of a television screen (hence the name), reminding us of all the visual “noise” we encounter on a daily basis (Baudrillard would love it).

Schmid is also interested in the images we discard – such as ID photos found in Brazil, or “Bilder von der Straße,” his series of over 900 found snapshots that the artist has been compiling since 1982. Since the collection is too large to be presented in most spaces, Schmid will select a minimum of 100 images (supposedly) randomly based on a mathematical system. Each is numbered and labeled with the date and city in which it was found, becoming in a way a travelogue of the artist’s journeys. I must say, though, that the selections on display are a bit disappointing; mostly they are from photobooths or in fragments, seeming to incite comparisons, by those not familiar with the act of collecting found photographs, to the movie Amelie. (Aided, no doubt, by one photobooth picture from Paris where you could put your own face on an ad for the film.) Truly, my initial reaction was “this is okay, but my collection is better.” I do recommend looking at the selections on Schmid’s blog, however, because he does have some real gems – pity they did not make their way onto the walls of Yerba Buena.

Finally, over by the outside windows is what I think of as the highlight of the show, the series “Photogenetic Drafts.” In 1990, the artist started what he called “The Institute for the Reprocessing of Used Photographs,” and sent out informational sheets telling of the dangers of photographs: how their chemicals affect our health and their quantities “increase visual pollution and undermine our thinking power – to say nothing of the moral dangers they pose for our children.” Under the guise of the Institute, the artist offered to safely dispose of or reprocess the photographs (note: thereby creating more photos, hrm), insinuating that it is unsafe to throw them in the garbage bin, like batteries or cell phones. It seems incredible anyone would take this seriously, however, he did manage to get a number of donations, including some from a portrait photographer who had cut the negatives in half to prevent new prints being made. Due to the controlled conditions under which these photos were taken – i.e. the distance from the camera, a limited range of poses – Schmid was able to match up and mash up these figures. The combinations are almost always across gender or generational lines – some are truly amazing how well they work together. He creates hybrid images that speak both of a cultural past and the nature of photographs, as well as the blurry line between the commercial and artistic applications of photography.

Ground breaking, this show is not, but it is an interesting rumination upon society’s relationship to photographs – commercial and personal –how much is taken for granted or discarded. This exhibition really should serve more as a springboard for other artists to take these ideas further, though, as it seems like Schmid is at times just scratching the surface.

http://www.ybca.org/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNumber=3407
http://schmid.wordpress.com/

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