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| "Cotto,"
1970. Black and white photograph; 10 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches |
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“Cotto”
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In "Cotto," a hand grasps for a slice of salami. Aside from the
way in which the salami and white plate are centered in the image,
the photograph and action taking place seem relatively straightforward
and rather uninteresting. But upon closer inspection, one notices
that some of the white circles on the cotto salami seem drawn on
or emphasized with ink. The hand has similar small circles, of an
identical size, on every visible knuckle. What is going on here?
The white plate - another circle - with five slices of salami -
more circles - is sitting on a black countertop splattered with
white paint - more and more and more circles. Even the ring that
the hand is wearing has circles on it, making every surface in the
photo susceptible to this circle outbreak.
"Cotto" is a photographic document of a silly, trivial moment with
objects. One of the first of many black and white photographs Wegman
would make between 1969 and 1974, the work was inspired by chance
events. In a handwritten text titled "Eureka," included in the exhibition
catalogue of a 1982 exhibition at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis,
William Wegman describes the process of discovery that led to "Cotto"
- "One afternoon before going to a party I drew little circles on
my hand (This was the 60's). The circles parodied the shapes in
my ring which I wore on my index finger." It was at the party that
Wegman would encounter the salami. In the text, drawings of the
ring, a finger with the ring on, and a spotted hand wearing a ring
are scattered throughout Wegman's story. These drawings are humorous
interruptions to the flow of reading and underline the way in which
the artist is interested in the connections between language and
images "Cotto" was conceived as an image before the photograph was
taken - the idea for the work takes precedence over the materiality
of the photograph. A humorous brand of conceptual art, Wegman's
photograph is exaggerates a casual observation into a curious image.
In other works by Wegman, the title for the piece is a clue to a
different way of interpreting the image. In "Drinking Milk," a plastic
straw juts out of a belly button and into a glass filled with milk.
The title for this work aids in the visual transformation of the
man's nipples into eyes and his navel into a sucking mouth. A photograph
of Wegman staring intently at a plaid suitcase begins to make curious
sense with the title "Portable TV." This sort of word play is present
in "Cotto" as well, where the title designates the point of origin
for the infectious swarm of circles. |
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