Amanda Siebert writes in the Straight on the month-long Capture Photography Festival. Now in its third year, the event spans the month of April, 50 galleries and other venues.
Jim Breukelman’s photos (taken around 1986-7) of “Hot Properties” on billboards around town will no doubt be sure-fire attention-getters:
The bungalows in Breukelman’s depictions are immaculately cared for, some with white picket fences and most with perfectly manicured lawns and gardens. When they’re compared to the shoebox-sized condos and cramped dwellings of today, it becomes clear that our definition of the word home has changed drastically. “There are cycles that exist within redevelopment, a sort of tradeoff,” says Preuss. “It forces people to think about homes in a way that is more fundamental than what the current conversation allows for.”
Curating an exhibit that reflects such a contentious issue in the city was no mistake—Preuss says that part of the reason she chose the work is that the subject is on viewers’ minds.
“We look for work that is critically engaged and is also accessible on a number of levels,” she explains. “Public artwork, as least as far as what Capture does, is about embracing the publicness of it, and what the audience might be thinking.”
the truth captured:
>
I’ll bet the useable space in that house is not much different than a larger condo. Basements were only beginning to be used for much more than storage and mechanical systems and these houses were often only 800-900 square feet per floor.
If the bungalow represents a utopian past it could only make sense in small towns and came at the expense of the urban experience. It isn’t the small condo that is the problem. It is the growing house sizes for shrinking families in a growing city which must lead to sprawl and transportation nighmares.