As Joseph Pabst noted in the opening remarks to the exhibition “Between a Portrait and its Other,” some people define “collection” as any time you have more than three of something. You may be looking at your oddball assortment of coffee mugs in a new way now, but there is more nuance than that. This show at Woodland Pattern Book Center displays pieces from three collectors and honors the memory of Paul Vanderbilt, former curator of the Wisconsin Historical Society, a man for whom collections were a vocation and an art form.
Hundreds of images fill the gallery, organized into four main bodies of work. Pabst has been collecting cabinet cards of male portraits for years, fascinated by these postcard-sized images that were prevalent in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. They served as lasting mementos, and their formality—which surpasses Facebook pics or fleeting moments on Snapchat—make them uniquely captivating for their stylish care.
The collection of Bryce Clark is a counterpoint and no less interesting. Visitors to his restaurant, Cempazuchi, will be familiar with the Día de los Muertos objects that fill the space year round. The pieces on view are likewise funereal; many are postmortem photographs from a century ago. This was not an uncommon practice, and as Clark noted, these pictures may be the only photograph ever recorded of the individual, whether they were in the late stages of life or very young.
Andy Kraushaar’s collection runs thematically between the two. He focuses on snapshots, often from photo booths, Polaroids or other casual forms of portraiture. They are another take on the representation of our personas and how these are transformed through processes such as coloration or the alchemy of photo development.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Complementing these collections is a soundscape by Ted Brusubaris, who joins audio from a lecture by Vanderbilt with narration of his written words. Curator Debra Brehmer adds to the consideration of portraiture with photographs of hands. In their collective view, these illustrate the unique ways small parts of ourselves say a lot about our lives and the world at large.
The exhibition, “Between a Portrait and its Other,” runs through Aug. 28 at Woodland Pattern Book Center, 720 E. Locust St. For further information, visit woodlandpattern.org.
