Lynne Cohen on the Uncanny in Institutional Interiors
In a 2007 conversation with Mona Hakim for Afterall, Canadian photographer Lynne Cohen elaborates on her interest in semi-public interior environments, ranging from homes to institutional spaces. She is captivated by areas that evoke both strangeness and familiarity, citing Jean-Pierre Criqui's 1992 essay that connects her art to Freud's concept of the uncanny. In the 1980s, Cohen transitioned from domestic to institutional settings to explore social issues and escape the confines of living rooms. Accessing these locations can be difficult, and she prefers to capture them in their original state. In the mid-1980s, she adopted larger formats and began incorporating color in the late 1990s, distinguishing her focus on ideas rather than mere documentation of places.
Key facts
- Interview published by Afterall on 22 March 2007.
- Interview conducted by Mona Hakim.
- Cohen's work focuses on semi-public interior spaces since the 1970s.
- Shift from domestic to institutional interiors occurred in the 1980s.
- Jean-Pierre Criqui linked Cohen's work to Freud's uncanny in a 1992 essay.
- Cohen uses a view camera and rarely intervenes in the spaces she photographs.
- She moved from contact prints to larger formats in the mid-1980s.
- Cohen began working in color in the late 1990s.
- She uses Formica frames to echo the mood of her photographs.
- Cohen cites Jacques Tati and Fluxus as influences.
- Her book 'No Man's Land' includes color photographs.
- Cohen exhibited at PPOW gallery in New York.
- Retrospectives held at National Gallery of Canada and Musée de L'Élysée, Lausanne.
Entities
Artists
- Lynne Cohen
- Mona Hakim
- Jean-Pierre Criqui
- Thomas Demand
- Jacques Tati
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- Piet Mondrian
- Jeff Koons
- Jean Arp
- Georges Braque
- Richard Artschwager
- Guillaume Bijl
- Michel Foucault
- Andrew Lugg
Institutions
- Afterall
- Vox, Image Contemporaine/Contemporary Image
- PPOW Gallery
- National Gallery of Canada
- Musée de L'Élysée
Locations
- Montreal
- Canada
- New York
- United States
- Lausanne
- Switzerland
Sources
- Afterall —