Ryerson University Digital Commons @ Ryerson Theses and dissertations 1-1-2012 The Public Lives Of Private Family Albums : A Case Study In Collections And Exhibitions At The Art Gallery Of Ontario And Max Dean : Album Heather Rigg Ryerson University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.ryerson.ca/dissertations Part of the Photography Commons Recommended Citation Rigg, Heather, "The ubP lic Lives Of Private Family Albums : A Case Study In Collections And Exhibitions At The Art Gallery Of Ontario And Max Dean : Album" (2012). Theses and dissertations. Paper 1517. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Ryerson. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ryerson. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE PUBLIC LIVES OF PRIVATE FAMILY ALBUMS: A CASE STUDY IN COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS AT THE ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO AND MAX DEAN: ALBUM by Heather Rigg BA, University of Victoria, 2007 A Thesis presented to Ryerson University and the Art Gallery of Ontario in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Master of Arts in the Program of Photographic Preservation and Collections Management Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2012 © Heather Rigg 2012 ii AUTHOR'S DECLARATION FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF A THESIS I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this thesis to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this thesis by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii iv ABSTRACT The Public Lives of Private Family Albums: A Case Study in Collections and Exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Ontario and Max Dean: Album Master of Arts 2012 Heather Rigg Photographic Preservation and Collections Management Ryerson University and the Art Gallery of Ontario This thesis uses Toronto artist Max Dean's performance Max Dean: Album, produced in conjunction with the Art Gallery of Ontario, as a case study to investigate the complex issues involved in the display and recirculation of private family albums in the public space of the art gallery. A survey of the critical literature that addresses the placement of vernacular objects such as family albums and snapshots in the art gallery functions as a preamble to a series of interviews done with scholars, academics and curators in the fields of photography and art history. Drawing on the results of these interviews, this paper examines the challenges that arise when family albums are publicly displayed and exhibited. Terry Barrett's methodology of investigating the context of photographs is considered and applied to family albums and to Dean's Album project, analyzing how his public performance provides a creative solution to the issues raised. v vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Professor Blake Fitzpatrick's generous contribution of time, expertise, insight and enthusiasm was central to the development of this thesis and I am very thankful for the support and knowledge that he continued to provide throughout the creation of this project. Thank you very much to my second reader Sophie Hackett, for her willingness to share her ideas, her time and her guidance. Thank you as well to Max Dean, Maia-Mari Sutnik and, of course, all of the participants of my interviews. My infinite gratitude must be extended to Tristram Lansdowne for his editorial prowess, insightful feedback and enduring patience and support throughout this program. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Robert Burley for his help in ensuring my internship at The Museum of the City of New York, an experience I will always be thankful for. Thank you to the PPCM class of 2012 for their friendship, encouragement and inspiration. vii viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Illustrations...............................................................................................x 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................1 2. Literature Survey..............................................................................................6 3. Context and the Public Display of Private Family Albums........................18 4. Barrett's Three Modes of Contextualization................................................31 5. Family Albums within the Art Gallery of Ontario......................................44 6. Max Dean: As Yet Untitled..............................................................................48 7. Dean's Public Gesture.....................................................................................54 8. Conclusion.......................................................................................................73 9. Appendix..........................................................................................................77 Geoffrey Batchen.......................................................................................77 Alison Nordström.......................................................................................79 Sophie Hackett...........................................................................................81 Elizabeth Smith..........................................................................................88 Vid Ingelevics............................................................................................89 Daile Kaplan..............................................................................................97 Martha Langford......................................................................................103 Bibliography.......................................................................................................108 ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Page Fig. 1. Installation view from Snapshot Chronicles on view from 23 May 24 – July 11, 2005. Images courtesy of Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery. Fig. 2. Installation view from Snapshot Chronicles on view from 23 May 24 – July 11, 2005. Images courtesy of Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery. Fig. 3. Installation view from Snapshots: The Photography of Everyday 27 Life organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, May 22 to September 8, 1998; photo: Ian Reeves Fig. 4. Installation view from Snapshots: The Photography of Everyday 28 Life organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, May 22 to September 8, 1998; photo: Ian Reeves Fig. 5. New Immigrant Family Living in New York City, 1950s. 37 Album, 96 gelatin silver prints, 3 chromogenic prints. 24 x 21.4 x 25 Gift of Max Dean. © 2012 Art Gallery of Ontario Fig. 6. New Immigrant Family Living in New York City, 1950s. 37 Album, 96 gelatin silver prints, 3 chromogenic prints. 24 x 21.4 x 25 Gift of Max Dean. © 2012 Art Gallery of Ontario Fig. 7. New Immigrant Family Living in New York City, 1950s. 38 Album, 96 gelatin silver prints, 3 chromogenic prints. 24 x 21.4 x 25 Gift of Max Dean. © 2012 Art Gallery of Ontario Fig. 8. New Immigrant Family Living in New York City, 1950s. 38 Album, 96 gelatin silver prints, 3 chromogenic prints. 24 x 21.4 x 25 Gift of Max Dean. © 2012 Art Gallery of Ontario x Fig. 9. New Immigrant Family Living in New York City, 1950s. 40 Album, 96 gelatin silver prints, 3 chromogenic prints. 24 x 21.4 x 25 Gift of Max Dean. © 2012 Art Gallery of Ontario. Fig. 10. New Immigrant Family Living in New York City, 1950s. 40 Album, 96 gelatin silver prints, 3 chromogenic prints. 24 x 21.4 x 25 Gift of Max Dean. © 2012 Art Gallery of Ontario. Fig. 11. Max Dean, As Yet Untitled, 1992-1995 48 Fig. 12. Max Dean, As Yet Untitled, 1992-1995 52 Fig. 13. Max Dean, As Yet Untitled (detail), 1992-1995 53 Fig. 14. Max Dean: Album (Waiting Room), May 2012 54 Image Courtesy of Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Image Credit: Toni Hafkenscheid Fig. 15. Max Dean: Album – Album label 56 Fig. 16. Max Dean: Album – Album Book plate 56 Fig. 17. Max Dean: Album, May 2012 57 Image Courtesy of Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Image Credit: Toni Hafkenscheid Fig. 18. Max Dean: Album, May 2012 60 Image Courtesy of Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Image Credit: Toni Hafkenscheid Fig. 19. Max Dean: Album, May 2012 63 Image Courtesy of Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Image Credit: Toni Hafkenscheid Fig. 20. Max Dean: Album, May 2012 63 Image Courtesy of Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Image Credit: Toni Hafkenscheid xi Fig. 21. Max Dean: Album – Provenance Card 68 Fig. 22. Max Dean: Album, © 2012 Art Gallery of Ontario 69 Fig. 23. Max Dean: Album, © 2012 Art Gallery of Ontario 70 Fig. 24. Max Dean: Album, © 2012 Art Gallery of Ontario 71 Fig. 25. Max Dean: Album, © 2012 Art Gallery of Ontario 72 xii 1. Introduction [T]he age of photography corresponds precisely to the explosion of the private into the public, or rather into the creation of a new social value, which is the publicity of the private: the private is consumed as such, publicly. - R. Barthes, “Private/Public,” Camera Lucida1 This excerpt from Roland Barthes' Camera Lucida provides a fitting account of the role of family photograph albums in Max Dean's performance installation Max Dean: Album, where once private photographic objects are