Facundo Argañaraz. Passenger II, 2013.
Acrylic, direct-to-substrate print , and brass fitting on aluminum composite panel; 48 x 61 inches.

A traditional narrative of art history culminates with Michael Fried’s “Art and Objecthood.” In this essay, Fried declares the end of painting at the monochrome: the complete distillation of painting to its most basic elements. For Fried, the monochrome marks the purest of aesthetic experiences as the viewer finds transcendence in the eternal present. In Tonight Tonight, Facundo Argañaraz questions the relevance of this history to contemporary art practice by employing industrial processes and found images to create deceptively clean-looking works that confound the viewer’s efforts to discern a deeper meaning. Argañaraz enters this historical conversation obliquely in the exhibition statement, referencing a quote from Jorge Luis Borges’ 1980 essay, “The Thousand and One Nights.” Borges contends that this historical tale acts as a metaphor for our paradoxically eternal yet evolving collective history. Tonight Tonight anchors the artist’s process and imagery in the familiar and industrial to argue for a contemporary rethinking of the monochrome.

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Mystic Falls K2Y3M3C4 (2013) Multi layered Duraclear and Duratrans prints processed with Mystic Falls water, in LED lightbox frame 65¼ x 46¼ x 2 inches. Courtesy of Highlight Gallery

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then Matthew Brandt’s reference to contemporary and historical landscapes is a backhanded compliment. He utilizes the pop beauty of nature photography in combination with advertising devices, then breaks them down into a mash up of scenic disintegration. On one side of the gallery hang three bright light boxes, facing them is a mammoth color photograph and on the middle wall two small, monochromatic Polaroids contrast the surrounding vibrancy. While each photograph is undoubtedly of a beautiful vista, none of them gives viewers the cheap pleasures of mainstream landscape photography.

Nymph Lake WY 4 (2013) C-print soaked in Nymph Lake water 72 x 105 inches. Courtesy of Highlight Gallery

In both Nymph Lake WY 4 (2013) and the Mystic Falls triptych, Brandt made photographs referencing 19^th century landscape photography, then exposed them to water from the original site resulting in the deterioration of the materials. Nymph Lake WY 4, a 72 x 105 inch c-print looks as though the water in which it soaked for weeks freed the layers of emulsion, allowing them to organically spread across the image in exuberant chaos. Despite that the water is technically destroying the paper, it reveals the true nature of the medium and the unparalleled chromatic capacity of analog color paper.

Installation view, courtesy of Highlight Gallery

For the three Mystic Falls pieces, Brandt separated the CMYK layers of a single image and reproduced the multiple layers as Duraclear and Duratrans prints, which he then left under a simulated waterfall spouting water from Mystic Falls. Mounted in light boxes, the images are reminiscent of illuminated advertisements at bus stops, which draw us to them like moths to a flame. Brandt contrasts the overtly sensational media by allowing the organic materials of the original site to destroy the image of itself.

Installation view, courtesy of Highlight Gallery

The works slip in and out of varying levels of clarity and corrosion, transforming what is typically the most accessible subject matter into images celebrating the unpredictability of nature and of Brandt’s process. Commercial culture depends on the predictable desires of populations, which drives an attempt to control all variables and produce highly specified consumerist campaigns. Instead of attempting to “capture” the boundless magnificence of the great outdoors, Brandt allows nature to strike back and remind us that it will not be contained.

Water & Polaroid is on view at Highlight Gallery until May 18, 2013.