Every now and then I'm revisiting some of the photography books and other items on my shelves here. This time it’s (one of my favourites) . . .
Chauncey Hare died in 2019. He was aged 84 and for a small part of his life perhaps the most successful photographer you’ve never heard of. His first book, Interior America, was published by Aperture and exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Between 1969 and 1976 he was awarded three Guggenheim Fellowships, an achievement equaled at the time by only two other photographers: Ansel Adams and Walker Evans. It’s quite an achievement for someone that would eventually disavow photography altogether and fight bitterly against the art establishment that had once championed him.
A complicated character to say the least, he said exactly what he thought, regardless of the consequences, and was passionate in the belief that his photography could affect social change. That belief would eventually turn to disillusionment and he stopped photographing in the mid-1980s, returning to school to become a therapist and author of self-help books related to stress in the workplace. Writing about himself for a biography in later life he said,
"Chauncey Hare does not define himself as a photographer, but instead an engineer, a family therapist and, above all, a protester.”
So let’s talk about the book, Interior America. I have the original 1978 version published by Aperture. You can still find used copies on-line costing around €100-€150. The introductory text, written by Hare, is extraordinary; a disarmingly honest review of his life, his relationships and the events that lead to him making these images. I’ve never read anything like it. You get a feel for the frustration and sense of alienation that he felt, coming across so strongly in the photographs that follow.
Before starting this body of work, Chauncey Hare had been too shy to point the camera at other people, preferring to photograph the landscapes and mountains of California; "Ansel Adams stuff”, as he said. His job of 21 years as an engineer in a petrochemical plant was well paid but mundane and unfulfilling, as was his marriage. It wasn’t until walking down the street one day he met a worker at the plant, Orville England, who invited Hare into his home. They got on well and from that experience Hare found the confidence to embark on a new photographic project that would eventually become Interior America. Orville England (pictured on the front cover) had been injured in an accident at work and pensioned off with little or no compensation. For Hare, this was an example of the corporate neglect and abuse of workers in multi-national companies that had been riling him for some time. His new images, he decided, would act as a protest against the oppression of workers and as a comment on the growing sense of alienation that was prevailing in the United States at the time.
Chauncey Hare's images are stark and unforgiving, capturing domestic interiors with a 7x5" camera and a wide-angle lens that probably brought more into view than the home owners realised. He used this little subterfuge to capture certain objects and people that sat unknowingly on the edge of the frame. The compositions are seemingly loose but thoughtfully structured, often using empty space to increase the sense of isolation. He creates a dialogue between the home owners and their surroundings; their choice of furniture, ornaments, pictures, television sets, clocks, wallpaper and tablecloths. The images have a particular energy to them as elements play off each other in visual games and hidden signs. A sense of alienation and oppression pervades them. The ceiling seems to press down on the space and its inhabitants, themselves often appearing lost or bewildered in their efforts to live the American Dream. It's a deliberate ploy on Hare's part. In many of the images he uses direct flash to light the scene and this adds to the suggestion of photographic ‘evidence’, drawing detail and potential meaning from the humblest of objects in the room. It's a technique that reminds me of forensic photography from crime scenes or perhaps Zofia Rydet’s ‘Sociological Record’ of home interiors in rural Poland.
In any case, the images are fascinating and disturbing. Apart from the interiors there are shots made outside, along the streets and house fronts to give some context. A few include obvious references to Walker Evans and Russel Lee, both of whom were a source of influence for Hare. Looking at the images today, 50 years after they were made, there is bound to be some nostalgia involved; the decor and clothing being very much of their time. What's interesting for me is that these interiors also document a moment of transition towards the age of communication, consumerism and technology that we know today. Telephones, cables and television sets play an important role in Hare's images, suggesting connection but at the same time revealing isolation.
Following on from this project, Chauncey Hare photographed work spaces for his second book ‘This Was Corporate America', once again as a protest to the alienation and psychological abuse suffered by the workers of large corporations. I don’t have a copy of that book but I’d be interested to see it. I do have a copy of ‘Quitting Your Day Job', Robert Slifkin’s excellent survey of Chauncey Hare’s life, published by MACK in 2022. It's well worth a read.
In the end Chauncey Hare chose to spend most of his life not being a photographer. He donated all his prints and negatives to the Bancroft Library at the University of California, far away from the elite art institutions he despised. He also required that any future publication or exhibition of his images be accompanied by the following statement:
"These photographs were made by Chauncey Hare to protest and warn against the growing domination of working people by multi-national corporations and their elite owners and managers."
Chauncey Hare, Interior America, Published by Aperture, 1978.
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