Phillip Maisel
Serengeti Green (1844)
While Phillip Maisel’s works can function as abstract, they are very much rooted in physicality and the possibilities that are inherent in the materials themselves. Elements used in various stages of photographic processes (color filters, glassine, and prints themselves) are integrated back into the artwork either as part of the sculpture or as collage elements that are later added to the print. In some of the works, Maisel cuts into the prints themselves. This re-working further shifts the spatial relationships within the surface and acknowledges the photograph as an object in and of itself. The final work lies somewhere between documentation of a sculpture, photographic print, and collage.
Maisel’s working process involves making precarious arrangements of materials in the studio. He selects accumulated objects, including building materials, studio supplies and photographs, things with histories that are just perceptible in the physical wear and tear. After establishing the parameters of the composition, he then makes multiple adjustments – repositioning, introducing or extracting various elements – photographing each intervention in a sequence.