Eileen Cowin

 

 

 

Untitled, 1986

Color Photograph/Poloroid, diptych

24 x 40 in. (60.96 x 101.6 cm)

Gift of FHP Hippodrome Gallery

© Eileen Cowin

 

 

 

Eileen Cowin (American, b. 1947)

Photographer Eileen Cowin cannily exploits the fact that the medium she has selected adds veracity to the stories she weaves. The “truth,” after all, can be seen in the documentary images that depict events, however ambiguous, in the lives of her protagonists. Here, a wedding has taken place and we are the family of well-wishers at the traditional cutting of the cake. Upon close examination, however, normalcy vanishes in overly theatrical lighting and unnaturally intense, saturated colors. Everything is, in a word, a bit “off,” but we don’t know why: ambiguity is a hallmark of Cowin’s work. After receiving a Master of Science degree in photography from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Cowin came to southern California. She lived, worked, and taught in the greater Los Angeles area for more than 20 years. Untitled was purchased in 1988 to complement the artist’s University Art Museum residency in an experimental education program. In 1988, the Museum presented Cowin’s work in a solo exhibition, Eileen Cowin: Returning to Ordinary Life, when a second work was purchased for the collection.