Photography Courtesy of The Luminary
Jennifer Colten's photographic work hones in on landscapes and histories of cultural and geographic space, leaving them open for interpretation. Her photographic practice is an exploration of different sites showing urban and ecological transformations and how issues of social, cultural, and environmental involvement connects to land use. Now focusing on urban development, Colten's work will be featured in a large-scale photographic installation placed on 7th Street in Downtown St. Louis opening this Saturday, with a walking tour and a free opening reception from 5–7 p.m. The news was announced this week by The Luminary.
The public art commission will shine a light on artists in the region that engage in past, present, and future endeavors of the area through their created projects.
"I would like to call attention to some of the historic architecture and the historic significance of St. Louis history, itself, that no longer exists," Colten says. She said installation is a consistent theme in her work. "Placing work into sites where the work has either been made or the work has come from is important."
The installation is named after the historic and magnificent lineup of high-rises once known as "Real Estate Row" on 7th and Chestnut streets. In the 1970s, Real Estate Row was the center for large-scale businesses and was the product of metropolitan wealth. Now, almost 50 years later, the Wainwright Building, standing tall since 1891, is the only remaining structure of that time. Salvaged artifacts of the buildings torn down are all that's left of the once prospering streetscape.
Drawing from her roots to Sauget, Illinois, and the National Building Art Center, Colten's photographic intervention will include artifacts from buildings that had once occupied 7th Street and its surrounding blocks. She will also feature historic photos of the city’s urban evolution and other images that evoke the complexities and storytelling of archiving, building, and unbuilding in the region from the National Building Art Center’s collection. Colten says it is important to also give acknowledgment to National Building Art Center and the person who has worked to create the historic collection.
"Larry Giles has been the visionary behind the National Building Art Center and he's been collecting and archiving all of these historic remnants for decades," Colten says. "I think it's really important to acknowledge—and I hope the exhibition does as well—but to acknowledge him, his work, and his sort of thinking about history, the present, and the future of St. Louis architectural history."
The project will be used to exemplify the large-scale transformations and developments of the influential corner of the Downtown area through a historic lens revealing history and future possibilities of the city.
The images will be set within empty storefront windows along 7th Street, going from Busch Stadium and Ballpark Village to the Convention Center and The MX.
Colten's photographic installation will join other collaborators already on display such as a photographic installation at Sauget Village Hall, a new billboard at the site of Big Mound on the North Riverfront of St. Louis, and 3,000 copies of the newspaper the American Bottom Gazette, which looks into the landscape of the region and its cultural and physical ecologies.
