Absolute Power, Absolute Terror

Alec Soth
The Last Days of W.
Gagosian Gallery
January 20, 2009 through March 7, 2009

Taking cues from predecessors such as Robert Frank and Stephen Shore, Alec Soth, in his extensive travels, has shown us with a large-format camera a view of the United States (and in the instance of Dogs Days, Bogota, South America) which for the average person remains secretive and out of reach. Soth's latest show, The Last Days of W., which ran for a couple of months at Gagosian's outpost on Madison Avenue, solidifies his position, in this reviewer's mind, as one of the artists whose interpretation of American life, and any sense of dissatisfaction and ennui therein, as one of the major photographers at work today. Mixing politics with religion and social commentary, Soth is eager to discuss that which many would like to forget, in this era of "change," about the Bush administration's work in eroding Americans' civil liberties and the global goodwill that was engendered following the 9/11 attacks. Soth reminds us that American history hardly ends with the turning of a page, and that if we remove the lens away from ourselves, we are prone to become the same (political, ideological) enemies against whom we fight.

Religion, in one manifestation or another, plays a heavy, thematic role in Last Days. This focus is no surprise, because as Bush once noted, rather infamously, that God wanted him to run for the presidency. Elsewhere, but at the same time, the conservative right, along with the Republican Party, took up the mantle of righteousness, and positioned itself to represent proper American values, in an effort to counter the immorality of the "(g)odless," to quote Coulter, and the liberal left. Soth plays up this dichotomy of good versus evil, of light against dark, rather beautifully, in ways which escape the heavy-handedness of lesser artists--especially in photographs such as "First Baptist Church, Bemidji, Minnesota." This photograph features a rec room--with a ping-pong table devoid of players--on whose walls we see a mural depicting Jesus, over rough seas, saving a man from certain death; in the background, there are eleven men in a boat (is the man being saved Judas himself, and are we to see ourselves in this man?) extending their hands, supplicating for divine mercy. There is a touch of humor in this image, as the mural itself is clearly the work of an undeveloped artist, and because it hangs over an area meant to relax the nerves of even the most faithful of followers. God, it seems, for the powerful and the meek alike, is everywhere, and pursues you relentlessly.

The photograph that best crystallizes Soth's ideas, and which speaks so eloquently to the false starts and failed promises of the Bush presidency, is "Ron, San Antonio, Texas," (above) in which the titular subject, in the wide expanse of an open field, looks forlornly at a toy rocket--a flame adorning its side--and whose face expresses the sort of frustration shared by many Americans when confronted by so much (masculine/military) hubris. Thousands of miles away, in "West Point, New York," the viewer is presented with fresh-faced cadets in their fresh, crisp uniforms, milling about the grounds of the Army's fabled military academy, a grey building sitting rather ominously in the background. One can only wonder if these young people, who stand to represent their nation's core, if not twisted, values, will survive to see the passing of another generation. A pervasive sense of sadness saturates this image, despite the bright, clear sun, despite the optimism of youth and hope inherent in its subjects.

For this exhibition, Soth decided to self-publish the photographs in a forty-five page artist book that was printed on newsprint, a material so prone to the effects of time and the environment. It is possible that the decision, seemingly self-conscious, to release Last Days on newsprint is political in its own way, given that the medium is falling out of favor thanks to the rapid changes in technology; the suggestion here is that, much like those who fought against Bush, Cheney, et al., there is very little that can be done when one is set against absolute power, either natural or man-made. (I, for one, am not so cynical.)

If there is one criticism that I have of the show, it is that Soth is speaking to an audience that, in all likelihood, already understands and believes in his message; in this respect, the images lose some of their shock and awe, their gravitas removed at the expense of what ends up as a civics lesson. Having said that, I found myself taking deep breaths at a number of the images in this show, some of which stand as Soth's best work.

You can see The Last Days of W. here.

For more information:
Soth at Magnum, the photo agency;
Soth at Gagosian Gallery;
Soth at his website

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