Photography exhibit at BCT reflects evolution of television

It’s no small task to examine how vulnerable individuals have become to the mass media that saturates our lives on a daily basis, but Bloomington artist Brian Chase has come convincingly close. And he has photos to prove it.\nChase’s most recent exhibit, “Tube Fed,” is a collection of 12 black-and-white photographs that reflects the evolution of television from innocent invention to media machine. Central to the theme of the collection are figures of both male and female nudes, seemingly captured in empty rooms with nothing but televisions before them.\n“The main concept was to show the unintentional, unanticipated consequences of introducing technology into our society,” Chase said. “The TV itself is just a simple metaphor for technology. It’s something we are embracing at such a fast rate that we often don’t realize the negative consequences.”\nTo illustrate how unsuspecting these consequences have become throughout television’s history, Chase has integrated four simple patent diagrams of the first television from 1927 into his collection. Hanging among the rest of Chase’s photos, the diagrams are a simple yet eerie reminder of how TV has changed, taking on numerous new commercial and informative roles. \n“(The patent images) are meant as a reminder that TV began as a simple idea that spawned this huge movement that now effects billions of people,” said Chase. “I was also inspired by the early ‘Twilight Zone’ TV series, classic cinema and people like Orson Welles. It begs the question: How was the world in the 1920s different than it is now because of this one idea that was thrown at us?” \nSuch a question invites responses based on cultural and psychological factors, and Chase relies on both to enhance “Tube Fed’s” message. The photos play with conventional art forms in both the visual and conceptual sense, allowing Chase’s stark images to convey a startling sense of intensity.\n“There’s a cold, artificial symmetry about them,” Chase said. “In art, when you learn about composition, they say not to put images in the center because it’s elementary. But I did, and it’s very deliberate. It makes the images symmetrical and structured. The nudity is a secondary visual device; people are wired to respond to that kind of imagery.”\n“Tube Fed” is open for public viewing from noon to 5 p.m. until March 30 in the Textillery Gallery at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. Chase exhibited work at the IU Art Museum’s School of Fine Arts Gallery in September 2005. “Tube Fed” is the artist’s first exhibit at the Buskirk-Chumley.