The bread and butter of Jonathan Gitelson's art is that most elusive of subjects, everyday life. Since moving from New York to Chicago, Gitelson has turned the overlooked stuff of the city into the focus of his large-scale photographic works, capturing such things as discarded club fliers and pairs of shoes hanging from telephone wires. He states: 'Overheard conversations, personal reflections, chance encounters and found objects are just a few of the seemingly mundane things that have inspired my work.' But Gitelson also appears to be fully aware of the very slipperiness of his chosen theme. If the everyday, as the constant background hum of life, will always try to disappear when brought to our attention, Gitelson, in defiance, goes one step further, and seeks to monumentalise it. One series of eight digital prints shows the artist's car, parked outside various Chicago nightspots, covered in a patchwork of over 1000 fliers that Gitelson began collecting in 2004 and later sewed together. These shots were exhibited last year in Chicago alongside the car cover, draped over a metal frame in the shape of the original car. In his poster works, Gitelson creates what appear to be pseudo-advertisements or public information announcements on such topics as shaking hands or smoking. The punchy and humorous graphic style of the posters has been very much influenced by contemporary comic artists such as Chris Ware, as well as Soviet agit-prop.
Having had several solo shows in his native city, and having participated in group shows in Munich, Houston and Minneapolis, and photography fairs in Paris and Barcelona, Gitelson has recently begun to turn his hand toward public art commissions. Over the course of three months, the artist conducted numerous interviews with commuters at Chicago's Armitage Brown Line platform, asking them to name their favourite Chicago spot, and to have their photo taken. The project will be launched in a number of forms, including a website, in the near future.
To see more of Jonathan Gitelson's work visit his Your Gallery profile page by clicking here.
Bill Roberts
Bill Roberts is a writer based in London, and a PhD candidate at the Courtauld Institute of Art.
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