rob kangas at hatch art
Looking Forward, Looking Back
“Rob Kangas has been showing photography since 1979, and taught photography at Oakland Community College for 38 years. 8 solo shows later, with work appearing in the DIA among 75 others, he is still going strong.” —Hatch Art
“My time and circumstances dropped me into the heyday of 35mm film. After decades in the darkroom, I now follow a hybrid practice of recording my images on film and outputting onto digital media. I still enjoy the physical tasks of film. I like practicing the care and skill required where there are no do-overs. Every decision counts, just like in life.” –Rob Kangas
Overlapping stills tell the story of a lifetime Detroiter where urban landscapes are home. Kangas employs a Canon F1 where he partially advances the rolled emulsion manually. Sometimes the locations are 50 feet apart. Sometimes there’s 30 miles between each shutter motion. If the capture isn’t right, Kangas retraces the same geographical loop to get the picture he’s aiming for.
The starkness of discarded, bulky tires on blaring white leads into the following stage set with strong depth of field. Two blue reflective circles add the only color to the monochromatic scenes. Thirds echo design aesthetics going back to Greek architecture that are so effective and pleasurable, we continue to use those proportions today.
Alley, Pontiac reads like a geometric abstraction where shapes are distinctly demarcated with intentional placement. The red and green Christmas trees provide weight while round overhead lights break the field of cloudless blue sky above.
Experience and mindfulness are required to create this minimal yet captivating arrangement. The floating red ornament appears to have been tossed by an animated roadside hand. The whimsical theme is rudely interrupted by a sliver of sign and infrastructure armature.
This series moves from one mysterious setting to the next with nowhere to visually rest between comments. Imagery contains a questionable wheelchair landing to playful Easter eggs hung on a tree in someone’s front yard. Color and texture contribute to the moody, chaotic timeline.
The elongated prints displayed in the main gallery are from Kangas’ recent work. The Hatch hallway presents several older works in traditional dimensions. Lifeguard demonstrates an innate sense of composition with the ability to record an entire narrative in one quiet frame. This was taken 12 years after the Clean Water Act of 1972. Prior to that dumping chemicals and waste into the Detroit River was common practice. Took some time to convince people the noxious muck had cleared and it was safe to swim. Lifeguards had charge of only a few brave enough to chance it. (FTR, I live on the Detroit River. There are fishermen—people—out there every morning. The sun sparkles on the clear, aqua to slate blue water. Belle Isle is packed in the summer)
The thing about film is you either got the shot or you didn’t. Generally this means copious snaps to get one good one. A photographer can chemically manipulate an image in the dark room, altering grain, texture, color, etc. Objects, expressions stay in place. No digital eraser to remove an inadvertent—or deliberate—photobomb.
I always appreciated Robert Mapplethorpe’s oeuvre. It was a selection of Polaroids exhibited years ago at Robert Kidd Gallery that sold me on his talent. I’m sure there are hundreds of ‘duds’ that are god-knows-where. The ones that survived illustrate a keen eye for drama—obviously—with organizational flair. Anyone can be a shooter. Even a shooter of push-the-boundaries shock. Not everyone is an artist. What’s the difference? Check out Kangas’ show and find out.
On view through June 28th at Hatch Art 3456 Evaline Hamtramck
*images are mine. Shooting photography is especially difficult as even if the print isn’t under glass, which most are, a so-called matte surface is glossy. The long, narrow configuration means trapezoidal distortion. All of this can be remedied via photo editors but still doesn’t accurately rep the image somewhat protecting it from illegal reproduction, so there’s that.
direct quote from gallery materials
I misspoke last post stating Real Art Detroit is the sole publication 100% devoted to Detroit art. It’s the only publication exclusively offering art criticism, but there are two additional Substacks that cover complementary aspects of our vibrant community. Michelle Perron recently launched a Substack from the perspective of a collector with years of experience in curation and acquisition strategy. Amani Olu’s Substack, Talent Is Not Enough, focuses on the creative economy speaking directly to the maker with critical insight into navigating funding models developed for businesses not the artist. His writing is so good I’m inspired to level up my practice. Highly rec both.
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