Multi-Sided Picture Works
2006–2012

The works in the series Multi-Sided Pictures are photograms made from folding sheets of light sensitive photographic paper. The paper is folded into basic three- dimensional forms, with anywhere from three to six sides, and exposed using a standard color photographic enlarger. Each side of the form is exposed to a specific color of light based on the spectrum of additive (emitted) and subtractive (reflected) colors—red, green and blue; and cyan, magenta and yellow, respectively. These redundant systems of color describe the field of all possible color combinations in their intersections (for example, when magenta and yellow cross, the result is red; when yellow and cyan cross, the result is green). They also relate to the way in which the work is perceived (i.e. in additive color, RGB, which is how our eyes see) and the way in which the work is produced (in subtractive color, CMY, as photographic paper is constructed out of cyan, magenta and yellow emulsion layers, just as all reflective media are, such as offset or inkjet prints). The process is conducted within a set of rules, and the rules are used to create chance compositions.

Titling Convention:

The titles of the works deal specifically with the two-fold character of photography, i.e. its pictorial and material conditions. In giving “pictures” a number of “sides,” and emphasizing the work’s reciprocal relationship to the conditions of their making, the pictorial conditions of the work are rendered continuous with its material conditions, thus giving pictures (which are immaterial) a number of “sides” (i.e. treating the picture and material as interdependent). These works arise from the premise that picture and substrate are highly interdependent, and are a refusal of the commonplace separation between the two. The process and titling convention account for both the “image” and material, and remove the unnecessary distinction between the two.

The works are titled with the number of sides of the folded form that is exposed to light, followed by the word “Picture” (e.g., if the paper is folded into a form that has three sides, the resulting work is called a Three-Sided Picture), the colors that correspond to the sides of the form (e.g., RYC), the date the print was made (e.g., January 12, 2007), the location where the print was made (e.g., Santa Clarita, California), and the type of paper used (e.g., Fujicolor Crystal Archive Type C). The date attributed to the work is the year of its first exhibition, which is separate from the production date included in the work’s title. A final description of the work, for example one that would appear on a wall didactic in an exhibition space, might read:

Three-Sided Picture (RBY), January 7, 2007, Santa Clarita, California, Fujicolor Crystal Archive Type C
2019
Color photographic paper
46 1/8 x 55 7/8 inches

Here annotated:
Three-Sided Picture [number of sides] (RBY) [abbreviations of colors used], January 7, 2007 [date of production], Santa Clarita, California [city of production], Fujicolor Crystal Archive Type C [brand and type of photographic paper]
2019 [date of first exhibition]
Color photographic paper [media]
46 1/8 x 55 7/8 inches [framed dimensions]