Alan Constable, cameras, Voigtlander, 2010
Summary
Alan Constable has had a studio practice at Arts Project Australia for many years. As well as drawing and painting, he has in recent years developed ceramic works. These reflect his life-long fascination with old cameras, which began with him making replicas from cardboard cereal boxes as a child. The sculptures are lyrical interpretations of technical, purpose-built instruments made to be handled and used.
In 2010, the City of Melbourne commissioned Alan Constable to make a ceramic sculpture modelled on the Voigtländer Vito B camera of Alan Bates, who used this to visually document Melbourne in the 1960s. Many of Bates' photographs are held in the Art and Heritage Collection and can be found by searching this site using the photographer's name. In the process of creating his poetically crafted ceramic sculpture, Constable made a small suite of working paintings in gouache and ink on paper. Painted in black, grey and white, the flattened aesthetic of these works shows the camera and its case from several angles. The understated sophistication of these studies points not just to the speed of the artist's deft hand but also to Constable's close observation of and fascination with his mechanical subject.
The ceramic camera with which these paintings pair can be found by searching for 'Voigtlander' on this site.
