Travis Shaffer
Residential Facades
August 12 - September 5, 2010
Travis Shaffer
Residential Facades
August 12 – September 5, 2010
Institute 193, Lexington
Travis Shaffer, an MFA graduate of the University of Kentucky, has been documenting the architecture of the American suburbs for years. Influenced by artists such as Ed Ruscha, he has produced a steady stream of portfolios and small books that document commercial and religious properties: mega-churches, parking lots, and Wal-Mart shopping centers. For his exhibition at Institute 193, Residential Facades, Shaffer turned his lens on structures built for shelter.
Shaffer’s project is distinctly local; the buildings featured in these pictures are from specific suburban developments in Kentucky. However, each structure is so bland, so generic, they could be from any community in the United States. This spirit of sterile anonymity was reinforced by the gallery installation—each photograph was printed to fit inside mass-produced IKEA frames and arranged in stark grids.
Shaffer captures each house from one dimension, usually choosing to focus on street-oriented edifices with no doors or windows. Devoid of human or animal life, Shaffer presents these structures as houses—not homes. Though his project makes a deliberate reference to Industrial Facades, a series by the German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher, Shaffer’s aim is not to seek out overlooked beauty. On the contrary, these photographs are a critique of mindless consumerism and unplanned, unchecked development.
Residential Facades is timed to coincide with the 2010 World Equestrian Games. As host city, Lexington, Kentucky, has entered a period of hurried infrastructural expansion to prepare for an influx of international visitors. Shaffer’s exhibition is a poignant reminder of the implications of unbridled sprawl.