Rust

2014

Rust, 2014. Sara VanDerBeek (American, b. 1976). Digital C-print; image: 198.1 x 121.9 cm (78 x 48 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Artist 2021.151 Rust was inspired by rusty metal roofing from the Alhambra apartments in the Cleveland neighborhood of Hough, which were demolished in 2011. VanDerBeek toned the image blue, a color that recalled for her “the quality of light and the presence of the sky and various materials throughout Cleveland,” blueprints in the studio of the late architect Robert Little, and cyanotypes, an early photographic process related to blueprints. The horizontal lines and gradually deepening color could be read as a seascape or the sky at dusk, transforming an image of urban decay into an image of natural beauty. Since cities are constantly in transition, Sara VanDerBeek bases her city “portraits” on areas that are historically important or have undergone dramatic shifts.