Quotes from the Readings “Realism is the refinement of our common acceptance of the world as being just what it appears to be” Simply everything is what it is, a piece of wood is just a piece of wood, and nothing is absolutely nothing. These are the quotes that led me to choose my artist.

The Production line of Happiness By Christopher Williams Here is just a few photographs from his line:

Kodak Three Point Reflection Guide © 1968, Eastman Kodak Company, 1968 (Meiko laughing) Vancouver, B.C. April 6, 2005, 2005 Chromogenic print 20 × 24 in 50.8 × 61 cm

Bouquet for Bas Jan Ader and Christopher D’Arcangelo, 1991 Archival corrugated board, archival photo corners, compound, 4-ply Conservamat, 8-ply Conservamat, drywall, dye transfer print, glass, lacquer-based finish, linen tape, nails, Northern maple, plastic setback strips, primer, screws, seaming tape, paint, and wood

Erratum AGFA Color (oversaturated)..., 2000 Contact print 11 × 14 in 27.9 × 35.6 cm

Punta Hicacos, Varadero, Cuba February 14, 2000, 2000 Chromogenic print 11 × 14 in 27.9 × 35.6 cm

Bergische Bauernscheune, Junkersholz Leichlingen, September 29, 2009, 2009 Digital Pigment Print 20 × 24 in 50.8 × 61 cm

About the works For the title of this exhibition, Williams has taken a line from a documentary by French director Jean-Luc Godard, in which an amateur filmmaker compares his daily job as a factory worker with his hobby of editing his films of the Swiss countryside as “the production line of happiness.” In Williams’s hands the phrase appears to refer broadly to the function of much photography in today’s consumer culture, in which it not only pictures but also produces so many experiences and objects to be consumed. So in these photographs it plays with what appeals to us as consumers. The root to our happiness and al triggering the reality we see in the image. How we respond to its reality depends on us. Short youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOr1RuwWnk4

So what is it? In Williams work each image is exactly what it seems to be. It is a dishwasher. Or flowers. If we were to look at it through aristotle however the image would be exactly what it appears to be as well. It is a picture, or in our case a projection. There is a line between reality and what is real. We can look at a picture and think about the object portrayed in the picture or look at the picture and understand we are looking only at a photograph. Which one is actually real, the object we are thinking about or just the photograph in front of us.

John Baldessari American Collagist, Painter and Photographer A crucial development in Baldessari's work was the introduction of text to his paintings. It marked, for him, the realization that images and texts behave in similar ways - both using codes to convey their messages. Text began to disappear from his work in the early 1970s, and since then he has generally relied on collage, but his work has continued to operate with the same understanding of the coded character of images. Typically, he collages together apparently unrelated categories of image or motif, yet the result is to force us to recognize that those images often communicate similar messages. In his work we find ourselves looking for the messages but are these messages the reality? Next are a few of his art works:

Raised Eyebrows/Furrowed Foreheads (Red, White and Blue), 2008 7-color screenprint 12 × 14 in 30.5 × 35.6 cm Edition of 150

Cliche: North American Indian (Red), 1995 From the series from The Cliche Series Lithograph and screenprint on Coventry paper with deckle 39 × 39 3/4 in 99.1 × 101 cm Edition of 50

The First $100,000 I Ever Made, 2012 Pigment ink on Niyodo paper, chine-collé and lithography on Coventry 22 × 40 in 55.9 × 101.6 cm Edition of 100

Cliche: Japanese (Yellow), 1995 From the series from The Cliche Series Lithograph and screenprint on Coventry paper with deckle 39 × 39 3/4 in 99.1 × 101 cm Edition of 50

Remember this? This is the same idea that the artist, Rene Magritte, explains that this painting is, indeed not a pipe. It is a painting