Located in a newly gentrifying area of Cleveland, Spaces Gallery recently hosted a show concerning the changing topographies of our world. Through a variety of different mediums – painting, digital photography, sculpture, and drawing – various artists presented topographical visions of the world.

The medium of photography offers viewers a look at the world that is usually considered to be more “real” in the sense that when one photographs, the subject must already exist in the external world. For this reason, photography implies that “seeing is believing” for many people.

Two photographers, Mark Slankard and Diane Meyer, present views of the contemporary world that challenge the viewer to think about the nature of the changing landscape by providing staged and manipulated images.

Mark Slankard’s body of photographs entitled Curb Appeal shows images of suburban housing developments from distorted angles. Slankard prints the photographs with ultra-saturated colors in the landscape. His views are then miniaturized, making the viewer feel as if he or she is looking into a world made for Barbie dolls or toy trucks.

Ultimately, these images examine the alienationation of people living in a dream-like world of sameness. While the images seem as though they may be constructed for a doll’s world, these images are taken from existing suburban housing development sites. By miniaturizing these suburban development, Slankard posits the idea that we as humans may feel almost as if we too live in a dreamworld. The super-saturated colors of Slankard’s work are reminiscent of the colors seen in a chemically-polluted sky.

The absence of human life amongst the empty housing developments implies a heightened sense of isolation and alienation. The irony here lies in the fact that there is an absence of human life while the photographs are all of housing developments where human beings are supposed to live.

Artist Diane Meyer’s photographs from the series Of The West include the pieces “Untitled #1,” “Untitled #2,” and “Untitled #3.” In these photographs, she stages scenes in mythic landscapes of the American West, creating humorous versions of cinematic clichés. In order to do this, she goes to the actual locations of Hollywood and Westerns, which are now popular tourist spots. By staging situations with a person dressed as a cowboy and many stuffed play animals as opposed to the real animals that were once used in Westerns, Meyer presents the viewer with a Disney-like scene. One may even mistake these photographs for sets built for a toy advertisement. Like many artists working in contemporary art, Meyer seems to be influenced not only by the subject matter of Hollywood and Westerns, but also by the advertising and commercialization of “American legends.” Her appropriated images challenge the viewer to reconsider what the meaning of the cowboy and the American Western in postmodern period of consumer culture.

The theme of play and make-believe posing as reality implicit in the work of both Slankard and Meyer inspire the viewer to reconsider what is believed as “real.” Slankard’s photographs of suburban housing developments lead the viewer to question the reality in which we live, while Meyer questions current tourist traps that are based on American cinema history. It is through the realistic nature of photography that one is able to see that which is exactly in front of them through a removed lens. The camera serves as a second, more critical eye for she or he who is able to take advantage of ihis or her power.