Grand Master
Clegg & Guttmann
Michael Clegg Irish
Martin Guttmann Israeli
Not on view
The "grand master" pictured here is not a specific individual, but an assemblage of stereotypes. Artist duo Clegg & Guttmann stage scenes that borrow from the history of portraiture—from Rembrandt paintings to annual-report photography and album-cover art. Their central conceit is to reverse the traditional relationship between artist and patron, recruiting those who usually do the commissioning—collectors, curators, and foundation heads—to appear as anonymous characters in their constructed photographs. Capitalizing on this implied authority, the artists here asked their subject to playact a pose of power. He sits in an ornate Odd Fellows chair before a projected tableau evocative of the same shadowy organization. With uncanny naturalism, he inhabits the role of a ravaged yet stoic puppet master manipulating unseen strings.
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