Mitchell Innes & Nash, 2006 (from “Sentry”)
© Andy Freeberg

Andy Freeberg’s Sentry captures what was, for me, the very feeling I had when I first visited the galleries in Chelsea. With these photographs, he addresses the intersection of art and architecture (specifically in its relation to the human presence and communication). He writes about the project,

It was an odd moment when I walked into that first gallery in Chelsea and saw a large white desk with a head poking up from the top edge of the computer screen. I took out my camera, carefully framing and exposing the scene, and the head never moved or took notice of my gaze. As I walked around that booming Chelsea neighborhood of art galleries, I began to notice a trend: at some of the biggest galleries there are giant entry desks, where the top of the head of the desk sitter is often the only other human presence. This leads me to wonder, in this digital world of email and instant messaging that supposedly makes us more connected, are we also setting up barriers to the simple eye to eye contact that affirms our humanity?

Interestingly, this series was on display at Danziger Projects (in Chelsea) through the month of September. I wish I hadn’t missed the show – to get to see the work in context, as “site-specific,” may have been nice:

installation view of Sentry at Danziger Projects, 2007
© Andy Freeberg

Take a look at the rest of the images on Andy’s website.