Artist’s Statement
In this corpus, my gaze shifts towards appropriation art from the late 1970s to the present. This is a movement that left an indelible impression on my own practice and to which I’ve made a modest contribution over the years. For After, I studied and, in my deferential but tongue-in-cheek style, remade the remakes once again using myself as model. In this way, I hope to better understand, (re-)deconstruct, and share my fascination with the practice of appropriation in post-modern art.
My research concentrated on the archive of appropriation in/of photography, video and cinema, focusing on works by artists who have worked with pre-existing imagery in a variety of ways. Artists whose works have had an impact on me over the span of my own career. But rather than recreating the original works, in After I have ignored the originals and meticulously studied and recreated the remakes and, by integrating myself within the 14 prints and 4 videos that make up the project, I have doubled up on the ironic distance.
With the exception of After Gordon (a video produced with the support of the Production Assistance Program of OBORO, a centre dedicated to production and presentation of art, contemporary practices and new media), all the works from After were made in the context of a Custom Residency Project at L’imprimerie centre d’artistes. The artist would like to thank OBORO and L’imprimerie for their support.
After: Exhibition History
Solo (or duo) shows:
2021 Becoming Photography, an exhibition in two venues: Expression, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC & Plein sud, Longueuil, QC (publication)
2020 After & On Photography, Espaces F, Matane, QC
After: Bibliography
2023 Alasdair Foster, “In Photography,” Interview on Talking Pictures website, Brisbane, Australia.
2022 Carole Coen, “Huitième art en « je »,” Fisheye Magazine , No. 51, Paris, January-February 2022, p. 110-111.
Ulrich Rüter, “Chuck Samuels: Becoming Photography,” Leica Fotografie International , 1.2022, Hamburg, January 2022, p. 112.
2021 Chuck Samuels, Becoming Photography, publication with texts by Joan Fontcuberta & Mona Hakim, co-edited by Kerber Verlag, Berlin, Expression, Saint-Hyacinthe & Plein Sud, Longueuil, 2021
Sylvain Campeau, “Chuck Samuels. Devenir la photogaphie,” Ciel variable, no. 118, Automne/Fall 2021, Montréal, p. 93-94.
Robert Enright, “The Man with the Moving Camera,” Border Crossings, Vol. 40, No. 2, Issue 157, August 2021, p. 100-111.
Gabrielle Sarthou, “Devenir la photographie. Chuck Samuels,” Espace art actuel, No. 129, Automne/Fall 2021, p. 109.
Sevia Pellissier, “Chuck Samuels. Devenir la photographie,” Vie des arts, No. 263, Vol. LXVI, Montréal, Été 2021, p. 89.
Joan Fontcuberta, “Històries i contrahistòries,” El món d’ahir, No. 19, Barcelona, Summer 2021, p. 50-69.
Donald Bracket, “How to Throw Your Voice Visually: Becoming Photography,” Critics At Large (criticsatlarge.ca), May 26, 2021, n.p.
Jérome Delgado, “Tête de star,” Le Devoir (Le D Magazine), April 17, 2021, p. 23.
Christian Gattinoni, “Portrait de l’homme photographique dans l’histoire de ses chef-d’oeuvres,” LaCritique.org, 24 mars, n.p. 2021
Chuck Samuels, “Scabs, Runny Noses & Wardrobe Malfunctions,” Ciel variable, No. 116, January 2021, Montréal, p. 95-98.
After: exhibition and edition details
After consists of 18 works of variable sizes (14 photographs with one or more images each and 4 HD videos) all of which are based on existing artworks from the history of appropriation. Each of the 14 photos is framed similarly to the “original” remake.
The framed photographs will occupy about 19 meters (62 feet) of running wall space but could be organized to fit in a slightly smaller space if necessary. In addition, the 4 single-channel videos, whose length varies from about 2 to 60 minutes, are shown as a combination of projections and flatscreen presentations. The installation of After is intended to evoke in the viewer the experience of attending a thematic exhibition on appropriation that one might encounter in a museum or other exhibition space.
The work is in two shipping crates; one that measures 77.5 x 113 x 35.5 cm, 22.68 kg (30.5 x 44.5 x 14 in, 50 lbs) while the other measures 124.5 x 148.6 x 29.2 cm, 45.36 kg (49 x 58.5 x 11.5 in, 100 lbs).
Edition:
After has been prepared as an edition of 10 prints/copies of the videos. In addition there are 3 sets of artists’ proofs (including one set of exhibition prints). Specially priced complete sets of all 18 works can be acquired.