Poignant Pics no. 39 - On Richard Tuschman's "Television Test Pattern"
Welcome to no. 39 in our series Poignant Pics where our editor, Diana Nicholette Jeon, writes about Richard Tuschman’s image, "Television Test Pattern"
Looking Back On Childhood
Sometimes my husband and I have conversations about what our son remembers (or rather, doesn't remember) about his childhood. It's fascinating how each of us lived the same experience but recollect it so differently. Of course, we each apply meanings based upon a combination of individual values, lived experiences, and the cultural norms of both place and era.
Inevitably, these conversations lead to others where we consider things that have no meaning for our son. He recently got an apartment, and on the wall in the kitchen is a non-functional rotary phone. To someone like him, born in the era when everyone had a cell phone, it might as well be a museum antiquity; it holds no memory or meaning for him. I, on the other hand, recall them readily. I grew up with one on the kitchen wall. I have fond memories of hours my childhood friends and I spent exploring known hacks to use them to make silly prank calls to the other people in our small town. It's curious to consider the changes that happened to both that sleepy, immigrant-populated farm town and the phone technology of my lifetime. Time changes everything, memories and technology most especially.
Part of Richard Tuschman's new series, My Childhood Reimagined, Television Test Pattern delves backward into an era before iPhones, 24-hour cable, and 75" slimline TVs. It's imbued with the same exquisite Vermeer and Hopper-esque lighting that is a signature of his work and evokes the overarching melancholy of his Once Upon a Time in Kazimierz series. Although beautiful and superbly lit, there is a distinct psychological resonance. A sense of disconnection and longing pervades the image.
Asked about this image, Richard told me, "This particular image is about the unspoken but understood veil of silence in my family's emotional life. My parents' (and hence the family's) style of emotional communication was to simply avoid talking about emotions. The standard 1960's test pattern on the TV seemed an apt metaphor, as well as a reminder of the time before the media pervaded our lives 24/7." I relate to this; not everyone's family had a sympathetic patriarch with the personality and emotional range of Ward Cleaver, mine included. As the child of parents who immigrated to the US as children themselves, my family experience was more akin to Tuschman's than the Cleaver's. I recall a focus on achievement and education; emotion was hidden, and family events were not fodder to discuss with friends.
Until I started to write about this image, I had only a general understanding of Richard's working practice. I knew that he built, lit, and photographed small sets and posed and photographed his models separately. That he then composited everything using Photoshop. Speaking as someone who has taught compositing at the college level and used Photoshop almost daily for compositing since 1997, I knew that Richard's seamless use of the media meant he had mastered it at a level few others have. It's so flawless that it appears to be a studio set shot. He seems to 'up the ante' with every new series, bringing the technical virtuosity to new heights. But I had no idea that he had trained as a painter and came to photography through graphic design work. I suddenly understood his love of and use of the heavenly Dutch painterly lighting. Through his level of technical skill, lighting, and haunting signature style, it is immediately apparent when happening upon one of his images that it could only be a "Richard Tuschman."
Is it possible to be a 'super-fan' of an artist the way one can be of a TV show? If so, count me as one for Richard Tuschman. I hope that one day I am blessed enough to be able to take one of his workshops. For now, though, I will avidly return to admire Tuschman's current and past works and hang with bated breath awaiting new ones. Bravo, Richard!
Artist Bio
Richard Tuschman began experimenting with digital imaging in the early 1990s, developing a style that synthesized his interests in photography, painting, and assemblage. His award-winning work has been exhibited widely, both in the US and internationally, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow, Poland, AIPAD in NYC, and the Photovisa Festival in Krasnodar, Russia, and he was named a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Photography in 2016. He currently lives and works in New York City.
See more of Richard’s work at http://richardtuschman.com
Author Bio
Diana Nicholette Jeon is an award-winning artist based in Honolulu, HI, who works primarily with lens-based media. Her work has been seen both internationally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Jeon holds an MFA from UMBC.