Monday 26 October 2009

Lynee Cohen: Sense and Nonsense, the Ordinary and Dreamlike


Lynne Cohen's work is based on seemingly 'normal' spaces, such as waiting rooms, health spas, waiting rooms etc. She provokes a sense of suspense, uneasiness and sometimes even a sense of humour to the images. She often creates black and white photos but the colour images have caught my eye. She often uses similar distancing in each photo with blocks of intense colour to give the image a constructed feel.

In each of the images below I feel that she has taken a photo of the mundane and turned the atmosphere into and a physiological message about the purpose of that space within society. She mainly focuses on the function these places have in our lives-“I feel as if the world can’t be like it is. It seems full of finished works of art.” Personally I agree with her. From an artistic point of view any building structure or environment connects to some-one. There's always a hidden story or experience that some-one has had there that may be lost forever.

To me the image above is quite childish its it's bold shape but it suggests urgency and war due to the black submarine shapes. Also the yellow draws in your attention contradicts it's usual happy meaning with the organised grid of the tiles. It' s a planned message.

This image reminds me of James Bond. Although that is irrelevant it gives the viewer a sense of the era and sophistication. The lighting and shapes are kept simple. The image leaves me wondering who, why and what would be going on in a room that look so simple to begin with.

Finally, these is my favourite image out of the three because of it has a vivid sense of prey vs predator, man vs nature, good vs evil. Both the military gear and tiger are separated but connected with the simple layout and colour green. This puts me on edge thinking about the wars that have been and still going. Also the blue lockers suggest that there are hidden details , which there are always going to be in these life changing situations.

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