Sanity - STEVEN R. TABOR

Sanity

What is real?

This series is made up of photographs of weathered walls, pain peeling from ceilings, and an old scratched banister. Viewed from up close, it seems as if time has etched real images onto these objects, like the cave drawings of old. But are these just smudges or scratches, or has time somehow tattooed a historical record on these everyday objects? The question of whether what we believe we see is real or not divides sanity from insanity.

Influenced by the book Artistry of the Mentally Ill, the French artist Jean Dubuffet coined the term "Art Brut", which he defined as pure, raw art. Some have compared Dubuffet's Art Brut paintings to wall scratchings. While this series of photographs are, quite literally, wall scratchings, the intent is to reveal what the ravages of time have left behind, and what the mind imagines these to be.

If you'd like to see the full series, download the PDF catalogue here.