Dillon DeWaters

Conversation with Kate Greenberg, curator of the exhibition “Beyond the Barrier” on view at CCNY through April 6th, 2013

“Beyond the Barrier” is a very concise exploration of connections between photography and science fiction. The works in the exhibition pit colored light against shadow, certainty against uncertainty, challenging the photograph’s standard assertion of reality and forcing the audience to re-examine truth.

Read more here.

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work by Adam Ryder (L) and Brice Bischoff (R)

work by Dillon DeWaters

work by Dillon DeWaters (L) and Leah Beeferman (R)

photographs courtesy of John Stanley/CCNY

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MATTE: How did you become interested in the relationship between science fiction and photography?

KG: I became interested in the relationship between science fiction and photography after viewing works by Dillon DeWaters and later Adam Ryder, who are both in the show. These artists were both dealing with a variety of sci-fi themes in their work and I decided to dive further into this genre. I am not a science fiction expert at all so it was a learning process for me.

MATTE: Why did it come down to these four artists? How do their perspectives differ?

KG: As a curator I love researching artists so this show is a mix of research that proved to pay off. I knew both Adam Ryder and Dillon DeWaters through graduate school, and had been a fan of their work for some time. I think once the wheels were turning from what I saw of their work I decided to research other artists who would fit into the exhibition. Leah’s work I found through research and we had a few friends in common. Her earlier work, “Journeys Into the Unknown”, really spoke to me for this exhibition but we decided to include new work. For me curating is always a collaboration and this is most true with Leah’s work, as she had been working on these new pieces influenced by her recent residency in the Artic Circle. I first saw Brice’s work on an album cover and tracked him down. Luckily I was able to meet him on a trip to Los Angeles last year.

In terms of perspectives, I think each artist presents a very different entry point into the world of science fiction and art. The show includes a range––references to popular culture and B movies, blurring of fact and fiction, tabletop abstractions, and how scientific data is represented. These artists can each take the viewer somewhere very different and it’s my hope that you’ll want to go further with them.

MATTE: Why now?

KG: The artists included here are all working in a variety of ways to push their mediums forward. The moment I started to work on the exhibition proposal I kept seeing art that was dealing with similar themes in various avenues––magazine issues dedicated to the topic, books and exhibitions. I think it’s very of the moment and glad that this show happened when it did.

-MATTE Magazine for CCNY