Art March 29, 2010 By Nalina Moses

Landscape with Houses (Dutchess County, NY) #1, 2009

Landscape with Houses (Dutchess County, NY) #1, 2009


They are views of an upscale suburban development with gently curving streets, smooth green lawns, and tidy four-bedroom houses. The paper models in Casebere’s early works were often constructed in a way that’s deliberately flattening, giving a cartoonist-like, ironic aspect to the broadly lit images. But Casebere’s methods in both model-making and lighting have become more precise. The houses and yards in these two new photos are recreated with impressive fidelity, so that “For Sale” signs, fence pickets, and window mullions are distinguishable. Yet they’re not perfect illusions. After viewing them for more then a few moments, they become unsettling. The landscapes are strangely still, without human figures and with very few trees and vehicles. The houses are eerily hollow, with windows that open into dark, empty interiors. Landscape #1″ captures sunrise from a picturesque birds-eye view. The soft, dreamy light complements the pastel colors of the houses and suggests endless optimism. It’s an image of suburban bliss that the viewer understands is too perfect to be true, that will be undone by invisible, internal stresses.

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