Starting off the new decade
with “Tech Time Capsule”, Jeanette May’s new Lightbox photography exhibition at
42nd Street-Bryant Park / 6th Avenue (B/D/F/M). May’s still life photographs show
us both the appeal of the new and the angst surrounding household technology
and obsolescence. The images were created with common household items - from
film cameras to flip phones - but arranged in a style referencing the wealth portrayed in 17th Century Dutch paintings, with a nod to contemporary still lifes
in the form of advertising display photographs. Each still life includes five
key technology categories: optics, audio, time, communication and light, in a
range of time periods. “The more we yearn to keep current—the newest phone,
computer, camera, audio system, espresso maker—the more we produce, consume,
and discard”, said May. The objects will be familiar to several
generations of commuters passing through the Bryant Park subway station, as they evoke
memories and wonder at how quickly technology is developing.
The next time they tell you Americans are “happy” with their employer provided health insurance remember that that “happiness” is fueled by willful ignorance of what the alternatives are really like and fear of losing what little crappy health care they currently have.
