Gallery Address:
119 N Peoria St, 2A
Chicago IL 60607
312.480.8390
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Gallery hours:
Wednesday
thru Saturdays
11am to 6pm
NICHOLAS FRANK
"A Few Snapshots from History" consists of two parts. Upon entering the gallery, the viewer is greeted with a map of Western Exhibitions superimposed over a map of the United States. Names of American waterfalls are scribbled atop this map, in the correct geographical location. As the gallery space is superimposed over the map of the US, Frank wants the viewer to imagine the gallery as the United States. On narrow white ledges rest 4 documentary style photographs depicting Frank installing sculptures of waterfalls as well as Frank discussing the installation with various Chicago and Western Exhibitions artists, including Michelle Grabner, Aaron Van Dyke, Amanda Browder as well as the gallerist. The photos retain the aesthetic of black and white art history textbook images that Frank has been using in his "Nicholas Frank Biography" book pages, reminiscent of candid images of AbEx'ers hanging out at Max' Kansas City.
The second part of this show is photographs of the waterfalls in situ. Frank claims this show documents a previous exhibit of his at Western Exhibitions called "Waterfalls of America." Frank placed sculptures of waterfalls (more specifically, water fountain relaxation devices found at pharmacies) throughout the gallery space, again corresponding to the layout of the space as if it were the United States. This exhibition may not have actually occurred. So the photo of "Wailua Falls, Hawai'i" resides just above where the sculpture of "Wailua Falls, Hawai'i" was installed in the gallery's office space, while "Crapsy Clay Falls, New York", "Horshoe Falls, South Carolina" and "Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan" are all situated outside of the gallery space proper, into the gallery director's domestic inhabitance. The map the viewer encounters at the show's entrance helps the viewer locate these, again, black and white documentary style photographs.
A curious note to the installation photos in the main gallery space: only one of the waterfalls depicted in the 4 installation photos made the current exhibition - this would be "Frank carefully arranges the stones of "Wailua Falls, Hawai'i"" - Frank exhibited 8 waterfall sculptures in "Waterfalls of America" but only 5 in situ photos in "A Few Snapshots from History." The photos that made the cut are circled on Frank's gallery/United States map.
