About JoAnn Verburg
JoAnn Verburg was born in 1950 in Summit, New Jersey. She didn’t stay there long, however. She went to college at Ohio Wesleyan University, getting her BA in sociology, then went on to pursue an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York (Pace/Macgill). This undoubtedly influenced her experimentation with the technological capabilities of the camera, a common trope throughout her work. Her interests as a young girl appear foundational to the ways she photographs, as well as her subjects and her intentions with them.
Verburg is known for her work on the Rephotographic Survey Project from 1977 to 1979 where she first became known in the photography and art worlds (New York Times). The aim of this project was to mimic 19th century landscape photography from photographers that headed west with survey groups in order to investigate, and show the people back east, what the other side of America was going to look like. This all became very popular as the transcontinental railroad was being finished. Verburg and her collaborators travelled to the same spots where these 19th century photographers took their photographs, and attempted to recreate the images using similar technology and techniques (New York Times).
After her work on the Rephotographic Survey, JoAnn Verburg worked at Polaroid’s Artist Support Program, which invited painters and photographers to experiment with large format cameras. Then, in 1983, she moved to the Twin Cities, where she still lives today with her husband, and poet, Jim Moore (New York Times). She and Jim also have a property in Spoleto, Italy, where much of her photographs are taken. Verburg suggests that the disorientation of travelling inspires her photos, which often have a dream-like atmosphere (MoMA). She uses her camera from a first person perspective, allowing the viewer to feel as though they are there in the scene. Coupled with the sensuality of light, and varying focus, Verburg captures the movement and stillness of everyday life in both the domestic and natural spheres of the world.
It seems that Verburg’s career and various projects do not necessarily connect with one another. For Polaroid, she invited artists to experiment with large format cameras which she continues to use to this day. For the Rephotographic Survey Project, she was recreating images that had been taken by 19th century photographers. I think both of these parts of her career point to her fascination with the technological aspects of photography and large format cameras. It also solidifies her fascination with the natural world, as exemplified by her photographs of olive trees in Spoleto, Italy. I believe it is her use of the camera, and the experimentation as well as the replication she undertakes with these projects, that allow her to find her own photographic voice, that becomes very present in all of her photography.
The photograph I chose to study and respond to is JoAnn Verburg’s Untitled (Jim Sleeping, Spoleto), 1988. This is a photograph of a homely scene; it feels like a Sunday morning. This photograph is relaxing, with the vantage point at what would be eye-level of a person sitting at the photographed table, looking into a nearby bedroom where a man, the photographer’s husband, is sleeping. There is a vase of flowers resting on the table, with a chair or some piece of furniture behind it.
We see the sleeping figure through the door frame, and behind a chair at the table where the viewer is “sitting”, supposedly where the sleeping person might usually sit. This chair acts as the punctum for the photograph. It leads your eye directly to the sleeping figure while also adding context as to where the viewer is within the photograph. This chair allows the viewer to feel as though they are in the scene, and further frames other small details in the photograph, such as the shoe next to the bed.
Verburg often takes photos of Jim, so I believe this photograph is well within Verburg's normal subjects. Though the photograph is not part of a specific series, it is one of many photos of Jim. Something of note about this particular photograph is that it is not a diptych or triptych, which Verburg commonly uses with some of her other photographs. This photograph captures the weariness induced by travel, as well as the motion, or lack thereof, so often present in Verburg's photography.
For my photographic response, I chose to focus on incorporating themes of soft focus and light, with simplistic colors to capture the dreamlike reality associated with rest. I also chose to model the subject of Untitled (Jim Sleeping, Spoleto). I have a sleeping figure, framed by a door frame within the photographic frame itself. My favorite aspects of Verburg’s photographs were the mundane nature of the subject, and the perspective in the photograph, which I also tried to recreate. I placed my own plant in a pot on a table, responding to the table and vase of flowers in Verburg’s photograph. I then took the photo from a similar perspective, as if I was sitting at the table and looked up from my cup of coffee.
My photograph is similar to JoAnn Verburg’s Untitled (Sleeping Jim, Spoleto) in subject matter, and in formal qualities, however there are some key differences. First, the photograph I took was taken in a cluster at Luther College opposed to an apartment or home setting as Verburg’s was in Spoleto, Italy. My photograph was also significantly darker than Verburg’s photograph, as I did not have as much access to natural light where I was taking the photograph. My process was different from Verburg. She uses a large format 5x7 inch camera, and I used my digital camera, a Canon Rebel. This undoubtedly affects how the light, clarity, focus, and color all comes together in each of the photographs. Despite these differences, I believe I captured the essence of rest and the dreamlike atmosphere that is present in Verburg’s photography.
Bibliography
“Artist JoAnn Verburg.” Pacemacgill, www.pacemacgill.com/joann-verburg-artist.
“Artist Talk: JoAnn Verburg.” We Stand with Our Community, Walker Art Center, walkerart.org/calendar/2019/artist-talk-joann-verburg.
Gefter, Philip. “Moments in Time, Yet Somehow in Motion.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 July 2007, www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/arts/design/15geft.html.
Kerr, Euan. “JoAnn Verburg Relates to the World through Her Camera.” The Current, 10 Jan. 2008, www.thecurrent.org/feature/2008/01/09/verburg.
Klaassen, Elaine. “Painting with the Camera: JoAnn Verburg on the Art of Photography.” Twin Cities Daily Planet, Twin Cities Daily Planet, 21 May 2006, www.tcdailyplanet.net/painting-camera-joann-verburg-art-photography/.
“Present Tense: Photographs by JoAnn Verburg: MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/audio/playlist/212.
Szarkowski, John. “New Photography 6: Paul D'Amato, Carl Pope, JoAnn Verburg.” MoMA, vol. 2, no. 6, 1990, pp. 20–21. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4381133. Accessed 12 Nov. 2020.
Credits:
JoAnn Verburg