ARTISTS
Elizabeth C. Moran: Backward ran sentences until reeled the mind
Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space is pleased to present Backward ran sentences until reeled the mind, a solo show of recent work by Elizabeth Moran.
Since June 2017, Moran has researched the history of fact-checking as a profession. The position was created by TIME Magazine鈥檚 founders in 1923, and as the first weekly news magazine in the US, TIME served as an aggregator, culling stories from 300 newspapers. TIME鈥檚 reporting was advertised as 鈥渨ritten after the most thorough and exhaustive scrutiny of news-sources;鈥� however, this 鈥渆xhaustive scrutiny鈥� was considered women鈥檚 work from its inception. Indeed, early fact-checking manuals include instructions to confirm names, dates, etc., while the checkers maintain their 鈥渄omestic list of chores.鈥� Darning socks and facts. Ironing shirts and statements.
According to the artist鈥檚 ongoing research, each advertisement from the publication鈥檚 first year in existence often relied on absurd metaphors鈥攍ike 鈥淐atch 100 baseballs with a seven-bushel crab net鈥濃�攁nd the use of male pronouns鈥攍ike 鈥淗e cut the Gordian Knot鈥濃�攖o describe the work done by the women fact-checkers. Using these advertisements as a point of departure, Moran composes tableaus with found objects and office materials from the 1920s, including a typesetter鈥檚 drawer, letter opener, and telephone receiver. With a surrealist approach (The Surrealist Manifesto was published just one year following the launch of TIME magazine), Moran ultimately documents the efforts of an invisible class by creating a series of potentially confusing images that visualize TIME鈥檚 absurd language describing the women鈥檚 labor.
Moran鈥檚 latest series interrogates the historical association between women鈥檚 work and fact-checking, particularly within today鈥檚 鈥減ost-fact鈥� information landscape. Drawing from the earliest advertisements for TIME magazine, Moran鈥檚 photographs and sculptures give rare voice to these once-anonymous women.
In parallel, Moran has been experimenting with carbonless paper both as a material and as a proxy for the simultaneous presence and absence of these women and their work. Indeed, fact-checkers used carbonless paper when typing-up manuscripts, so the copies (the 鈥減inks鈥� and 鈥測ellows鈥�) could be distributed to TIME鈥檚 staff. The material responds to pressure, similarly to how photographic paper responds to light, resulting in ghostly imprints of information or touch.
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Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space is pleased to present Backward ran sentences until reeled the mind, a solo show of recent work by Elizabeth Moran.
Since June 2017, Moran has researched the history of fact-checking as a profession. The position was created by TIME Magazine鈥檚 founders in 1923, and as the first weekly news magazine in the US, TIME served as an aggregator, culling stories from 300 newspapers. TIME鈥檚 reporting was advertised as 鈥渨ritten after the most thorough and exhaustive scrutiny of news-sources;鈥� however, this 鈥渆xhaustive scrutiny鈥� was considered women鈥檚 work from its inception. Indeed, early fact-checking manuals include instructions to confirm names, dates, etc., while the checkers maintain their 鈥渄omestic list of chores.鈥� Darning socks and facts. Ironing shirts and statements.
According to the artist鈥檚 ongoing research, each advertisement from the publication鈥檚 first year in existence often relied on absurd metaphors鈥攍ike 鈥淐atch 100 baseballs with a seven-bushel crab net鈥濃�攁nd the use of male pronouns鈥攍ike 鈥淗e cut the Gordian Knot鈥濃�攖o describe the work done by the women fact-checkers. Using these advertisements as a point of departure, Moran composes tableaus with found objects and office materials from the 1920s, including a typesetter鈥檚 drawer, letter opener, and telephone receiver. With a surrealist approach (The Surrealist Manifesto was published just one year following the launch of TIME magazine), Moran ultimately documents the efforts of an invisible class by creating a series of potentially confusing images that visualize TIME鈥檚 absurd language describing the women鈥檚 labor.
Moran鈥檚 latest series interrogates the historical association between women鈥檚 work and fact-checking, particularly within today鈥檚 鈥減ost-fact鈥� information landscape. Drawing from the earliest advertisements for TIME magazine, Moran鈥檚 photographs and sculptures give rare voice to these once-anonymous women.
In parallel, Moran has been experimenting with carbonless paper both as a material and as a proxy for the simultaneous presence and absence of these women and their work. Indeed, fact-checkers used carbonless paper when typing-up manuscripts, so the copies (the 鈥減inks鈥� and 鈥測ellows鈥�) could be distributed to TIME鈥檚 staff. The material responds to pressure, similarly to how photographic paper responds to light, resulting in ghostly imprints of information or touch.
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