This recent work is based on a painting by the German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich. Friedrich’s work, from 1823 - 1824, depicts a shipwreck locked in a broken sheet of ice and is based on an 1819 expedition to the North Pole.
James Casebere (b. 1953, Lansing, Michigan) has been producing and photographing constructed models in his studio for over 30 years. Casebere emerged in the 1980s as one of the artists in the ‘Pictures Generation’, alongside Cindy Sherman and Barbara Kruger. Using sources taken from architecture, art and cinema, Casebere’s work has tapped into the history, society and culture of America as well as other places including Japan and Europe.
This photograph featured as part of the Touchstone programme (2012-2020). Each display consisted of a single photographic work on the Eranda studio floor where visitors were invited to respond to the question 'What do you see?' using the cards and pencils provided. A bench was placed in front of the work, encouraging people to spend a little longer than they might usually. The programme was part of a wider series of projects and activities related to visual literacy.
A selection of audience responses to the question 'What do you see?'
Installation view of James Casebere, Sea of Ice (2014) © Kate Elliott
