PHOTO:I Scream You Scream
“I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream,” a song first published in 1927, by Howard Johnson, Billy Moll, and Robert King, stems from a commercial slogan for the The I-Scream bar, aka Eskimo Pie. After initial success as a late ‘20s novelty song, the tune became a traditional jazz standard, while the lyrics refrain has remained a part of popular culture even without the rest of the song.
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Robert Mann Gallery Archive
The I-Scream bar was developed by a store owner named Christian Kent Nelson that he thought that it would be a good idea to try to combine chocolate with ice cream, in one handy treat. Robert Mann Gallery’s summer exhibition, “I Scream, You Scream”, looks at both the visual and social culture of ice cream by juxtaposing contemporary color images of ice cream itself with historical images. The exhibition explores how photographers can capture the playfulness of the human experience indulging in the pleasures of life that will melt in your mind, not your hand. The exhibition features works by: John Albok, Ralph Bartholomew, Jeff Brouws, Ted Croner, Jim Dow, Martin Elkort, Harold Feinstein, Jill Freedman, André Kertész, Olivia Locher, Meryl Meisler, Martin Parr, PUTPUT, Simone Rosenbauer, Peter Sekaer, S.B. Walker, Garry Winogrand, and Neil Winokur. The exhibition brings a sense of nostalgia through works by Martin Parr, where we get transported back in time to see ice cream appear as charming novelty food that may have since found sanctuary in an vintage shop. Parr is a chronicler of our age. In the face of the constantly growing flood of images released by the media, his photographs offer us the opportunity to see the world from his unique perspective. Simone Rosenbauer in her series, “Like Ice in the Sunshine” evokes joy and elusiveness simultaneously. In each work, a Popsicle is centered on a different DayGlo colored background. The pictures are sugary pop confections that seduce with their radiant artificial color. Each shows an idyllic summer treat with all the heightened power of commercial product photography, but this ideal is literally melting before our eyes. With this one simple motif, Rosenbauer deftly evokes both the joy, and the ephmerality, of youthful summer months. PUTPUT in “#11, Popsicles” (2012) goes even further and removes the function of two common objects by placing a sponge in guise of a popsicle, creating a visual semblance that confuses our perception and makes us reconsider the materiality of objects. Jim Dow’s “The Sno House” calls to those looking for comfort from sweltering summers. Such ideas lead to more theoretical conversations on society’s reluctance to change as Olivia Locher’s mischievous character, whose outright defiance breaks an outdated Alabama law by having an ice cream cone drip from her back pocket, provides a satirical approach to holding on to the past.
Info: Robert Mann Gallery, 525 West 26th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, Duration 6/7-18/8/17, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, www.robertmann.com
