An intriguing exhibit that I saw at Sonnabend Gallery, 536 West 22nd Street, photos of buildings around the world that recreates the look of the original headquarters of Chabad- Lubavitch. At first, I thought the ethos of corporate franchising was influencing this uniformity (McDonalds, Starbucks, AppleStore) but as it turns out, religious denominations have been using this kind of branding for centuries. Obviously, there are distinct differences between a Buddhist Temple and a Muslim Mosque, but it's also pretty easy to spot the difference between an Episcopal Church and a Greek Orthodox Church. Never the less, these sets of prints are interesting, perhaps because of the wonderfully awkward but sincere architectural references...
The Original, Brooklyn Andrea Robbins & Max Becher 2005
Kfar Chabad, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Andrea Robbins & Max Becher 2005
São Paulo, Brazil, Andrea Robbins & Max Becher 2005
[from TimeOutNY] New York over there
Is there a less likely icon than 770 Eastern Parkway, the drab Tudor-style headquarters of the Chabad- Lubavitch in Crown Heights? Yet thanks to Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, leader of the Hasidic sect until his death in 1994, 770 has become a global presence, proliferating in replica form from São Paulo to Melbourne. The building started out as a women’s clinic, but was purchased in 1940 by Schneerson’s father when he brought the Lubavitchers from Poland; Schneerson made it the focus of an international messianic movement. That worldwide reach is the subject of “Brooklyn Abroad,” an exhibit at Sonnabend Gallery by the conceptual-photography duo Andrea Robbins and Max Becher, who’ve documented 770’s many clones. The images offer a deadpan testament to religion as a kind of branding. See also Art listings, Chelsea.—Howard Halle
2 comments:
Hi and thanks for looking at our show and putting up some images from it. We have been photographing "the transportation of place" for over twenty years now. We have a book by Aperture by the same name. We are not interested in documenting places as much as we are trying to photograph this invisible phenomenon where one place refers to another and why.
We like all the things you look at; great website Mr. Starfish.
In friendship,
A&M
robbinsbecher.com
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