Andy Mattern’s, “Average Subject/Medium Distance”, featured in the summer issue of Photonews

Jul 2, 2018

Andy Mattern’s series, “Average Subject/Medium Distance” was featured in the summer issue of German contemporary photography magazine, Photonews.

A photographic series, Average Subject/Medium Distance, captures Kodaguides, a common photography tool used in the 1940s and 1950s to adjust exposure, depth of field, and lighting prior to the widespread dissemination of the automatic consumer camera. While each paper card carries a trove of information and a host of recommended settings, the advent of the automatic camera suppressed the availability of these very decisions- ultimately moving these processes beneath our awareness. A dialogue between contemporary and historical practice, Mattern’s works place the implications of technology under examination, focusing on its subsequent authority and visibility in our everyday lives.

“Mattern, who has made a name for himself with serial-abstract still lifes, decided to counter with his own interventions. He photographed the aids and edited the data with Photoshop. Images (like sun and cloud) were covered and text was removed, but single words like “space,” “more/less,” or “equivalent” are still identifiable. Connoisseurs of the history of “Kodaguides” will immediately recognize the manipulations of the surfaces. Mattern is interested in “the collision between analog and digital, convention and experiment, control and uncertainty.” – Photonews

Click here to read the full article.