I saw a great show at ICA/Boston today (and it's not Eva Hesse STUDIOWORK).
Leslie Hewitt's Riffs on Real Time is an elegant and somewhat haunting revelation. The elements are really simple and laid bare for examination. In a time when so much of photography has a lot to do with digital processes and a hackneyed view of the constructed nature of images, Hewitt's work breathes life into the discussion by a factual presentation of these ideas. Her concrete and centralized compositions of layered photos marry the poetic to the indexical. Exploring image-as-surface, and image-as-support, without without any "scrapbooky" touches of nostalgia or inflection, she creates works that open up spaces for contemplation of history. Their weightlessness belies their origin and the installation conveys the work's relationship to geometric abstract painting. It is a luminous and exciting body of work.
Randi Hopkins's essay on the show is as compelling as her gorgeous installation of Hewitt's photographs. It is writing that does not attempt to take the place of the work and leads you back to the photographs with fresh eyes.
Who knew that the placement of an image inside of an image would still be able to take your breath away?