A photograph is an abstraction, in that word’s original sense. Having framed a portion of reality in the viewfinder, the photographer abstracts it—removes it—from its real-world context. Katrien de Blauwer’s photo collages redouble the medium’s unreality effect. These works exemplify three of the simple yet potent effects she derives from pictures cut out of old magazines. At left, a single image is split, then rearranged, producing a cinema-like stutter. In the center, two variants on a subject (tops of heads) become one another’s echo. On the right, two unimportant-looking details are married by Blauwer into an uncanny new whole.
Katrien de Blauwer (b. 1969), left to right: Single Cuts (99), 2014; Rendez-Vous (50), 2015; Rendez-Vous (55), 2013. Collages. Purchased on the Photography Collectors Committee Fund. 2017.287–289. © Katrien de Blauwer