Susie Brandt and Betsy Brandt
White Noise, 2001
Susie Brandt and Betsy Brandt’s White Noise installation explores the discrepancy between the imagined, idealized version of Niagara Falls and the artists’ own experiences in the landscape. Because the Falls are already one of the most photographed sights in the world, they chose to utilize and manipulate extant images through new digital technologies. The installation’s central element is a brochure made from found images of the cataract, including idealized representations culled from postcards, tourist brochures, historical paintings and photographs. These were combined with digital snapshots of the overlooked, purposefully ignored embarrassments and uncelebrated wonders of the town of Niagara Falls, NY, to craft a brochure that links the eternal aspects of the waterfall, love and the industrial legacy. In White Noise, the brochure functions as a repeat module for the wallpaper and pleated drapery panels in what the artists’ call a "toxic/honeymoon/ hydro/ waste/fall/dump suite of desire."
Created with support of the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, in conjunction with the CEPA Art Works! residency program, Susie Brandt and Betsy Brandt’s White Noise is a CEPA Gallery commission. Courtesy of the artists
Susie Brandt is a mixed-media artist who has focused in recent years on installation projects. Adirondackland, her project with Betsy Brandt, showed at Art in General in 1998. Brandt is Assistant Professor and Head of Fiber Arts, University of Arts, Philadelphia, PA.
