Museum guards by Jake Romm

This is a selection from an ongoing (as yet) untitled work on museum guards. The work explores the formal relation between museum guards and the aesthetic space that they inhabit.

Magazine

Our printed editions, circulating throughout various galleries, festivals and agencies are dipped in creativity.

The spirit of DODHO’s printed edition is first and foremost an opportunity to connect with a photographic audience that values the beauty of print and those photographers exhibited within the pages of this magazine.

We invite professional and amateur photographers from all around the world to share their work in our printed edition.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ban28.jpg

This is a selection from an ongoing (as yet) untitled work on museum guards. The work explores the formal relation between museum guards and the aesthetic space that they inhabit.

The photographs have been processed in such a way as to flatten and erase the distinction between guard and work in order to incorporate and level both into pure form. This flattening further comments on the anonymous, often under appreciated and underpaid labor that keeps museums running. In erasing the distinction between art and guard, the viewer is forced to finally see the guards, to engage with their presence, to acknowledge their integrality to the museum both aesthetically as form and logistically as labor. 

What’s more, when the guard is brought into focus, the experience of a museum changes for the viewer. The act of observing, of a visitor engaging with a work of art, becomes troubled by the presence of third party (the guard) engaged in the act of observing the observer. In the presence of a museum guard the museum goer becomes self conscious—conscious of her physical presence within an enclosed space, conscious of the act of observation itself. The fact that the viewer is also engaged in observation, often intense observation, only heightens the awareness of being observed. Questions begin to arise in the mind of the viewer: Have I looked at this work for too long? Not long enough? Am I standing too close? Should I move to the next room? Once the guard’s gaze is internalized, each step, each shift of weight on fatigued museum feet, feels suspect. 

It is not just the act of observation that is troubled, but the value of the museum experience itself. Constantly face to face with some of the world’s great artistic offerings, the guard’s attention is almost always diverted elsewhere. Their apparent boredom, or perhaps nonchalance, in the face of the artwork forces us to ask what viewership is worth and whether novelty is the primary force at play—whether our treasured works can stand the test of repetition. 

About Jake Romm

Jake Romm’s writing and photography have appeared in The New Inquiry, The Forward, Humble Arts Foundation, Loosen Art Gallery, Fisheye Gallery, Phroom, Across the Margin, and Reading The Pictures. He currently lives in Philadelphia. 

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Do you have an idea or something you'd like to share? Please use the form provided, or contact us at contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.