Untitled (Group sticking heads through a sheet) c. 1910

This small gelatin silver print shows a group of people goofing around with a sheet. It’s the kind of picture that makes you wonder about the people in it, right? The slightly faded sepia tone gives it an old-timey feel, but the humor is totally timeless. The sheet, held up like a makeshift canvas, has these heads poking through, arranged in a grid almost like a proto-internet meme. Each face is a little portrait, but the real charm is how the group makes this single, bizarre image. I’m drawn to the way the sheet becomes a sort of mask or frame. The umbrella and American flag only heighten the sense of absurdity and play. It reminds me a bit of some of John Baldessari’s photographic collages, that same sense of found imagery mashed up with conceptual games. Art doesn't have to be serious to be interesting.