In much of his work New York
photographer Arne Svenson makes
the mundane seem extraordinary.
His earlier works, such as still-
life images of leaves and bones,
for instance, or his portraits of
criminals and art critics, are all
permeated with a kind of deadpan
humor. The same may be said of his
black-and-white Las Vegas scenes,
which he has taken over the past
several years, and which make up
this witty show. Svenson's
depopulated Las Vegas is not a
pretty sight--a city of lost hopes
and shattered dreams. He focuses
in on the artifice, the facade and
the fake glamour, that are so much
a part of this glitzy town.
A number of images deal with
Las Vegas's often ridiculous
architecture. Interiors are
confused with exteriors and vice-
versa. One photo, for example,
shows a hotel lobby with a huge,
tacky photo-mural of an autumn
country scene in New England.
Dried leaves are scattered on the
wall-to-wall carpeting in front of
the mural, as if in an attempt to
enhance the bizarre illusion. Some
images are eerie. One shows a
hotel conference room divided by
flimsy-looking floor-to-ceiling
partitions. The far wall,
decorated in faux-rococo style, is
dominated by a large archway
painted black. This disconcerting
archway resembles a train tunnel
entrance. It also seems to offer a
handy exit for disenchanted
gamblers--a desperate leap into
the void.
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