Rendez-vous de Bellevue 1991

Curator: James Casebere’s "Rendez-vous de Bellevue" presents us with a fabricated architectural landscape. It's a gelatin silver print, measuring about 72 by 72 centimeters, currently residing in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels like a stage set, stark and uninhabited. The hard shadows and simplified forms create a sense of unease, almost like a de Chirico painting. Curator: Casebere’s process involves constructing these miniature models from simple materials like plaster, then photographing them. It challenges our perception of reality and representation. He's deconstructing architectural photography itself. Editor: Exactly! The image exists because of the model, and then the photograph. We're seeing layers of construction, of artifice, rather than a straightforward document. It really makes you think about the labour involved in creating and consuming images. Curator: He often references historical architectural styles, subtly engaging with themes of power, memory, and the constructed nature of history itself. Editor: It leaves me wondering about the real spaces these forms are referencing and what those spaces represent in the world. A very thought-provoking piece. Curator: Indeed. It's a fascinating exploration of how we build and interpret our world.