PHOTOBOOTH

2021

The modern concept of a Photo Booth - curtain and all - originated with Anatol Josepho, a Siberian who came from Russia to the U.S. in 1923.

In 1925, the first Photo Booth, called the Photomaton, appeared on Broadway in New York City. For 25 cents, the booth took, developed, and printed 8 photos, which took about 10 minutes.

In the first 6 months, it was used by 280,000 people.

In the first 6 months, it was used by 280,000 people.For Warhol, the photo booth represented a quintessentially modern intersection of mass entertainment and private self-contemplation. In these little curtained theaters, the sitter could adopt a succession of different roles, each captured in a single frame; the resulting strip of four poses resembled a snippet of film footage. The serial, mechanical nature of the strips provided Warhol with an ideal model for his aesthetic of passivity, detachment, and instant celebrity. Here, Warhol has adopted the surly, ultra-cool persona of movie stars such as Marlon Brando and James Dean, icons of the youth culture that he idolized.

As I reminisce about random outings and meet-ups, immortalizing moments in clear daylight or a blurry night, I dreamt up an homage for the Photo Booth. Something that, I guess, evokes the spontaneous closeness, silliness of cramming into a booth with friends, or a random person, or an impromptu passport photo your parents drag you to take.

PHOTOBOOTHS HAVE BECOME AN EXTINCT ENTITY/OBJECT (THE TAKING UP PHYSICAL SPACE KIND, NOT THE ONE THEY HAVE AT YOUR OFFICE’S ANNUAL DINNER). IT’S EERIE TO THINK OF CRAMMING YOURSELF INTO A SMALL SPACE AND INTERACTING WITH ONE.

THIS IS AN HOMAGE TO AN OBJECT/SPACE THAT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY 'WORK' IN TODAY’S ENVIRONMENT, BE IT FOR CULTURAL, MAINTENANCE, POLICING, SURVEILLANCE, OR HEALTH REASONS.