David Plowden illustrates the dirt, grime, and hard work in the steel industry, capturing the landscape and his excavation thoughtfully; portraying our too often overlooked-treasures that are very important in keeping the world running smoothly. According to the introductory shown at the start of the gallery, "STEEL: The Cycle of Industry places the viewer at the point where shovel meets dirt in the mining process and ends in the same soil surrounding these long-abandoned mills."
This exhibition, located at the Grohmann Museum, is centered around a single artist named David Plowden, thematically illustrating his subjects on the American steel industry. Plowden is known for capturing the essence of America's often overlooked side of the spectrum, unraveling any subject's hidden beauty. Exploration and documentation were of his best interest when keeping in mind of the subjects he photographed at the steel locations.
Before entering the exhibition room, there is a plaque with an introduction and summary of the artist; explaining his past recognition, his artistic concept, and what the viewers are going to expecting from the gallery. In his intro, it is stated that Plowden wants his full impact to be felt by his viewers. I would say with this exhibition, I felt the full impacts of the dirt, grime, strength, masculinity, expansion, industry, and even stress. I could sense a better understanding of what it's like to work in these types of environments.
The exhibition is cleanly displayed with the collection of photographs aligned in the center of the walls spaces; columns of either one, two, or three photographs are moving vertically within the horizontal stretch. This fine organization could be a factor of professionalism and a consistent workflow practiced in the steel industry. A distinct grid-like pattern is used to organize the photographs hung on the wall.
There is an unclear starting point, in addition to the gallery seeming to extend in an unfinished room, leaving me feeling like they ran out of room. When looking at the exhibition room as a whole, in the middle is a wall of photographs facing away from the viewer that divides the room with a line of symmetry. With that being said, the entire room is an act of reflective symmetry with each framed photograph having the same organized pattern as the wall on the other side. This throws me off slightly as there could have been many other different ways of set up. I assume it was to represent the organized factory work consisted in the steel industry. Lights applied above the ceiling shine below the photographs to give them an extra glow.
Each photograph has a numbered ID tag dangling beside it. I wasn't sure what the purpose was at first, but after asking a receptionist, she confirmed that the numbers are from a pamphlet containing a title, description, and date of each image to the number it's assigned with. I thought this was a beneficial addition of the steel ID tags, as well as amplifying the branding aspect of the steel industry.
One aspect from the exhibition that threw me off was the use of red walls. The majority of the exhibition displays red walls that the photographs are hung from, while the extended section contains a milky-tan wall that was unflattering and lacks visual appeal. Out of all the colors in the world, red was chosen as the base color. I couldn't relate the color red to anything from the steel industry. Eventually, I realized that the use of red symbolizes blood, sacrifice, determination, danger, and passion, representing the emotions experienced in these types of working environments. Plowden backs this up with shots pertaining to hard work, difficulty, and strength. I would have chosen a gray or dark blue for the wall color because of the neutrality I felt, a rather settle career; but seeing that red is a symbol of determination and strength, it balances out the exhibition
The objects in view were part of a collection provided by the museum. All the photographs were not from a single body of work, but rather a collection of Plowden's documentations of the steel industry from the 70's and 80's, eventually turning into an enormous body of work.
The use of Black and White film gives the steel industry a graininess and grittiness to working there, as well as possibly representing a colorless, repetitive life. There were various kinds of photography shots applied in this collection focusing on landscapes, leading lines, geometry, and eye movement, focusing on every small detail the subject consisted of in order for viewers to feel powerfully impacted by the heavy environment the steel industry holds. He documented steel companies from all over the country to distinguish any cultural differences by location. His photographs were repetitive at times, meaning that there were a few of what appeared to be the same subject, but that also indicates a repetitive lifestyle. The use of black and white photography also gives the images a neutral tone of living, in other words, the steel industry is no place for sunshine and dandelions; it's about dirt, grit, strength, power, and sacrifice. Plowden amplifies the heaviness of the tools and machinery, the bitter emptiness of the landscapes, the minerals found throughout, the hotness of the flames inches away from the workers, and the countless factory lines that make one actually see leading lines in what appears to be typical factory sights.
I was the only one in the exhibition, so I had calmness to think and collect my thoughts about this collection. No music was playing, so all I was able to think about were my observations and surroundings.
Overall, I was very pleased with this exhibition since I'm a sucker for film photography. The crisp cleanliness of the exhibition set-up connected with the tight-knit, seemingly-perfect, professional community consisted in the steel industry. The Black and white tremendously gives me a negative emotional response amplifying the dull, repetitive, filthy, neutrality of working in the steel industry. The red walls symbolize the hard work and passion present in the industry. When leaving the exhibition, I did feel David Plowden's full impact and emotion of the steel industry he only hopes and dreams his viewers are affected by.
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