Barbara Bloom
Crittall Metal Windows (No. 4), 1972-2010
archival digital print, framed:
“According to Susan Tallman in “The Collections of Barbara Bloom,” the idea of Crittall Metal Windows “was to manufacture works so perfectly designed that they would disappear. She attempted to establish a credible visual format and to fill it with content that was simultaneously so uninformative and uninteresting that no one would give it a second (or even first) thought.” Using found advertisements, Bloom removes much of the information necessary to understand their content. What’s left is a shell, design and typography that’s just enough to convey certitude and authority despite its not asserting anything. The project is a demonstration of the political power of aesthetics, and an argument for skepticism of advertising and propaganda.”
