Review by Blake Andrews: The Meaning of Gravity
Ken Graves, The Meaning Of Gravity (Luhz Press, 2023)
This book collects collages by Ken Graves, spanning a wide period from the mid-1980s up through the mid 2010s (he died in 2016). It was curated and produced by his soul mate and artistic collaborator Eva Lipman. You might remember the couple for the terrific photobooks they put out a few years ago, Derby and Restraint And Desire. Based on those books and Graves’ earlier monograph The Home Front I knew he was a talented photographer. But The Meaning Of Gravity is my first exposure to his collages. It contains almost ninety strange cutups, all surreal, precise, and unlikely. Dare I say they share those traits with his straight photos? But these are unbounded by so-called “reality” and range further afield. The original sources are old magazines, journals, and manuals from the early 20th century. Most are b/w, some are faded color. “What does it mean to be acted upon by gravity?” asks the opening passage, “To be pulled into orbit, to be moved by a force unseen?” Don’t ask me. But these collages are as tightly constructed as any Newtonian diagram. Instead of imparting practical information, they tap irrational wells. You could say they put the imagination in imaging. A spotlight falls on a coat hanger held by headless businessman. A couple marches through a field of paint drops wearing ornate steampunk helmets. Wrestling men grapple near metal files with distant farms in the background. Most constructions are absurd, and some are laugh-out-loud funny. Where did he generate these ideas, and WTF do any of them mean? Might as well pursue dream analysis.
This is the first book from Luhz Press, a brand new publisher based in LA. It’s very well produced with nice cloth cover and Swiss binding to help the pages lay flat. Publisher Zoe Lemelson co-wrote one of the essays with Alexander Helmintoller. The other is by Lipman, who knew him best. Both fill in some of Graves’ backstory and working process. The collages were recently part of a group show at Rose Gallery in Santa Monica. Wish I’d known this during my January visit. Oh well, missed it. The book will suffice.
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