Photojournalists work with various media outlets to document our reality. We rely on these

images to provide us with an accurate depiction of a story, although the framing will always

be subjective. I remain aware how the lens can skew; offering one facet of a story from the

journalist’s perspective. On display in the northeast gallery at Haw Contemporary, Davin

Watne’s “Picture the Wall” confronted viewers with a large wall of loaded images taken from

various media outlets, forcing us to examine the role that we as bystanders, play in these

occurrences and observations.

*“Picture the Wall” installation. Image Courtesy E G Schempf*

Standing ten feet tall and spanning the entire room, Watne interpreted widely-recognized

photographs, screen captures, and newsreels taken from recent news through oil paint. The

images chosen appeared controversial, and appealed to the shock value that grabs attention

from audiences and propels 24-hour news cycles. By working directly from these public

photos, there is an immediate response akin to the speed at which these sources were

produced. Using appropriated photos, observational works and symbols (including flags and

screenshots from YouTube videos), Watne engaged viewers with a very specific look at

contemporary American culture. More than half of the images chosen related to events

dealing with the underlying racism, sexism and xenophobia that speak to the pulse of the

nation today. These images have been presented in a manner to be taken as the absolute

truth without room for debate. By his choice in imagery, Watne’s implied neoliberal views

presented a parallel to Fox News’ far-right zealotry. These media biases have created

structures of bigotry of far and wide diverseness. While I agree that dialogue should be

opened up regarding these events, Watne’s presentation deterred me from anything that is

perceived as bias, as the piece exists in a space where the majority of the viewers seemingly

share the same political viewpoints and demographics. Comparable to a montage that

introduces a news segment, Watne’s information sharing is quick and aggressive,

overcompensating for the people who choose to say nothing at all about the events depicted

His singular point of cultural perspective is something I take issue with. This notion of a fixed

and “correct” viewpoint as a base concept is shaky at best, as nothing like that truly exists in

a world which is constantly impacted by globalism, whose very definition are evolving

ideologies. Hito Steryl, the German filmmaker, visual artist and writer comments, ”all we get

from linear perspective is a “one-eyed view from an immobile spectator that is assumed to be

natural, objective and scientific,” straying from subjectivity as a whole. With linear

perspective defining the state in which everything exists in it’s natural form, it has provided a

common basis of understanding shared by the general population. However, this shared

understanding of the world is shifting, lending itself to varying perspectives of seeing and

understanding concepts. With contemporary media incorporating the use of montage,

speculation, and ambiguous information, images are drifting further away from any sense of

linearity, losing their sense of time and perspective to the viewer.

In an earlier series of work, titled “Life is a Collision,” Watne created paintings depicting the

aftermath of car accidents seemingly caused by wild animals. With the news constant and

the prevalent existence of 24-hour news channels overabundant, there is a disposable

quality to tragedy, much like the materiality of the cars in Watne’s earlier paintings. With this

oversaturation of tragedy addressed by news stations, the media starts to lose value in their

seriousness as audiences have less time to process and evaluate this constant stream of

information. Watne exposes the authority assigned to images by media outlets, while making

an often overlooked statement about the general public’s thirst for involvement in tragedies.

This is supplemented by the economics of ad sales networks bring in when addressing these

tragedies. With television remaining as the primary source for news for 57% of Americans,

the ability to attract viewers to news stations gives the media a heightened sense of power

over what content they are deploying to their viewers. Watne is functioning as a primary

media outlet by highlighting what we should be paying attention to, and what deserves to be

ignored. He comments on the problem of incessant news coverage by providing his own

viewers with an overwhelming amount of information in an over advert manner, numbing our

interest in keeping up with the news rather than staying interested.

Davin Watne’s Forced Perspective in “Picture the Wall” at Haw Contemporary

E S S A Y 3: The Distance and the Manicure.

Culture and Starters: S.E. Nash’s Cultural InquiryThrough Fermentation