Here, we ask an artist to frame the essential details behind one of their latest works.
Bio: Michael Dayton Hermann, 48, New York.
Title of work: REconstituted 2 (2024).
Where to see it: “REconstituted,” Baxter St. at Camera Club of New York, (128 Baxter St.).
Three words to describe this work: Post-truth. Tradition. Invention.
What was on your mind at the time: When developing this body of work, I was overwhelmed thinking about how systemic and intractable so many of society’s challenges are. I was also considering the paradox of how the forces that bring us together can also be the same forces that also hold us back, and the things that are familiar can hold the potential for rediscovery.
I set out to make work that spoke to the relationship between tradition and invention as potentially harmonious forces, even in today’s highly polarized social and political climate. Because, in the end, I’m an eternal optimist. I wanted that sense of hope to inform the work. I believe happiness is not having the best of everything, happiness is making the best of what you have. These works transform the common, discarded, and familiar into something extraordinary, inviting an exploration of the complexities of the human condition in a multitude of ways.
An interesting feature that’s not immediately noticeable: The process of how this painting is made is not easily perceptible. It is recycled, remixed, and reworked in a way that I haven’t done before. Informed by a world stewed in a fundamental distrust of information, the painting consists of color photographs that are digitally collaged, printed, drawn over, re-photographed, digitally re-collaged, re-printed, and then painted. It’s a post-truth, trompe l’oeil transformation of familiar subjects into something greater than the sum of its parts.
How the work reflects your practice as a whole: I view each body of work as a unique invention that starts with an idea, subject, or question that I investigate. However, while conceptually diverse, a common thread through my work, including this painting, is a desire to find purpose, power, and meaning in the relentless stream of content we absorb. This work is also connected to my practice as a whole through my consistent desire to explore dichotomies as potentially harmonious forces.
One song that captures the work’s essence: Bad Bunny’s “Un Preview.” I love its fearless and confident embrace of new beginnings.