Deconstructing Hoboken

Sunday was a great day of entertainment at the Hoboken Historical Museum, with a presentation given by Sterne Slaven. Slaven is the artist behind the photographic exhibit Deconstructing Hoboken. As a historical museum, the establishment features local artists who use Hoboken as their inspiration and subject matter. Over the years, it has been known to feature exhibits which show the progression of changes within the city over time.

Never having been inside the museum, I wasn't sure what to expect, but once the show got started, it was easy to see why such a large crowd would opt to be indoors on such a beautiful afternoon. It wasn't just Slaven's amazing photographs that captured the crowd, but his backstories and punctuated humor were what really kept us in our seats. 

The presentation was not only a show featuring photographs of Hoboken, but an adventure in discovering the style and beauty of Slaven's unique work. 

As an artist, his style of work is different; he creates multi-dimensional, photographic art by playing with color, texture and combinations. Most of his pieces are photomontages or assemblages of photographs that appear seemingly different, but when viewed as a whole, coalesce in theme and appearance: "I love combining things and making connections," Slaven announced while we were viewing several pieces ranging from a montage of images from Bryce Canyon to a photographic collage of pheasant feathers. While each piece was unique and beautiful, what made each one so fascinating were the motifs; we were shown layered collages splashed with different themes from various types of mannequins to a collage of cemetery fences within a Berlin graveyard to name a few.  

The crowd was then tantalized with a series of pictures which he deemed as manipulated art. Motivated by the work of artist, Edward Burtynsky, Slaven found inspiration in the artist's unique process of distressing photographs and giving age to each one. Slaven explained the process of manipulating negative images in order to create something new and interesting.

"I like the palette of destruction," Slaven said, "I like the color of rust and the shape of bent, twisted forms."

His methods of manipulation range from simply scratching up a negative image with tools to grinding sand into the pictures in order to achieve a certain level of texture and artistic destruction. When I asked him personally about his fascination with photographic manipulation and in particular, destruction, his answer was rather simple.

"I grew up in the suburbs," he said, "Everything is the same and somewhat boring. Everyone has a white house and a well-kept lawn; there is nothing unique or different. A lot of people like white and clean, but I like havoc; I like clutter."

It came as no surprise that his presentation also featured images from September 11 as well as photographs from several natural disasters: "I like damage, anything I can get with flooding or tornadoes, I like that." 

Aside from the manipulated photographs, Slaven covered several areas of Hoboken in his photographs. Some were expected, while others were somewhat of a surprise. His exploration of the Ferguson propeller factory seemed to yield not only the most work in terms of quantity, but in inspiration as well. As a large area with "lax security," as Slaven put it, the factory provided a great deal of space and materials for him to photograph and explore. He was able to not only capture plenty of pictures, but we were shown photographs of old documents, business cards and even a set of worker's directions. 

He regaled us with several pieces of his own artwork which included references to propellers, the factory or pictures he had taken when exploring the area. Aside from the factory, his presentation featured visits to the old shipyards, one of which the museum itself is built within. Because most of the old shipyards were destroyed and reconstructed into new buildings, Slaven had much less to work with in comparison to the propeller factory.

"I enjoyed the shipyard work a lot, mostly because I didn't have as many materials and had a more limited palette than the propeller factory; it was a challenge."

The last of the Hoboken images were shots and photomontages from the river and pier surrounding Hoboken which included images of sailboats, sunrises from the city and a series of shots from September 11, 2001.

But perhaps the most interesting part of the show was Slaven's demonstration of his other work. While most of his work consisted of buildings and manmade structures, his other work displayed a more organic side as it featured photographs and photomontages of ice and snow which featured photographs with what he referred to as, "hidden pictures." 

While I couldn't possibly recap the splendor of each photograph shown during the presentation, Slaven made it easy to highlight the best of the show: his fascination with destruction and nature make for a unique and interesting artistic combination which must be seen in person to be truly appreciated.

Slaven's work is currently on display within the Hoboken Historical Museum so whether you are interested in seeing photomontages of Hoboken or you simply appreciate fine art, this exhibit is something you should definitely check out. His work will be shown through March 6.