Walter Wick's world of hidden objects apears at the Walters Art Museum
Friday, September 24, 2010
Walter Wick does not have a red thimble. Silver thimbles, yes. Antique thimbles, you bet. Even a ceramic thimble -- but no red thimbles.
Which seems almost unbelievable if you're a fan of Wick's photographs in the "I Spy" and the "Can You See What I See?" books, which challenge young readers to find objects hidden within an intricate scene or collage of knickknacks. Wick's library of objects has grown to "tens of thousands" since his first "I Spy" book in 1991.
Just how he crafts the scenes is the subject of "Walter Wick: Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic," an exhibit at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore through Jan. 2. Visitors can see 55 large-scale photographs (some of which are from his books) as well as six models that span the Connecticut-based artist's 30-year career. The exhibit also explains how Wick pulled off some of his elaborate illusions.
Wick, 57, spoke to us from his Connecticut studio about his techniques and his knickknacks. Here are some edited excerpts.
-- Amy Orndorff
Do you identify yourself as a photographer or a modeler?
Well, I was just wondering about that myself. I identify myself as a photographic illustrator. I build many of my own models, but as you have probably figured out with the show, I do employ a number of freelancers who I direct. I design and direct the construction of models and then photograph them.
How much of your images are Photoshopped and how much are traditional photography?
The show spans at least 30 years of work, and I haven't really done an inventory of which have been Photoshopped and which have not, but it is an interesting question and there are some surprising answers. There are some things that could look like they have been done by computer that haven't been touched by computer. There are constructions that are cleverly engineered or arranged to create the illusion that objects are floating through the air.
The image "Yikes!" was one where I looked at it and wondered.
Not even a speck of retouching done at all, it came straight out of the camera that way!
Where do you find the knickknacks and how do you keep them organized?
When I started . . . I just used a lot of things I had on hand in junk drawers and a small collection of antiques that I had. Over the years, with eight original "I Spy" books, seven "Can You See What I See?" books, I have amassed tens of thousands of objects if you count all the buttons and marbles and beads. It's pretty well organized.
How do you keep it all memorized?
It's a weird thing; I have a large library of objects. For example: buttons, you think of a button as a disk with two to four holes in it, but over the past hundred years there's been a lot of imagination put into buttons. Things that you would never expect. A common example would be one with an anchor on it, but I have buttons with tennis players on it, I have buttons with dogs on them, I have buttons with knights in shining armor and dragons on them. So buttons aren't just buttons for me. They can be almost anything.
Were you always like this when you were growing up? Collecting little odds and ends that fascinated you?
I don't really have a collector gene in me, I don't think. I think it's a means to an end. I tend not to buy things randomly anymore, I have such a nice library of things that I only buy when I am working on a specific project so I can really target and drill down to what I need.
And where do you find the objects that you are looking for?
I like flea markets [and] we now use online sources and we build a lot of things. I have a model-making shop, we cast things and mold things and we modify things. I just don't want to buy anything at random anymore. [My wife] is the one in the family who would buy something for the sake of its quirky beauty, and as a result we have a whole separate cabinet of curiosities that really doesn't relate to the books at all -- though occasionally I will pilfer from her.
What happens to your models after you are finished photographing them?
Only since the museum show started have we concentrated on preserving the elaborate models. Most of the models are taken apart, and the pieces are saved. A lot of the models in the museum show are supplemented with things from my prop cabinet, and I am missing them dearly.
Is it difficult to take apart your work after you are finished with it?
It can be sometimes. I sometimes have a have a hard time letting go of it, and I am always afraid that maybe I haven't really considered every square centimeter of the picture. I usually wait a day or two, even after I'm done, and much to the frustration of my studio manager, to take it down. Because I just might want to go back and reshoot it and make a few changes.
You visited the Walters before working on some of the pieces in the exhibit. Can you tell me how Walters influenced your work?
I was working on "Can You See What I See? On a Scary Scary Night" . . . and I was having a little trouble with what the interior of that castle should look like. I just didn't know how to furnish it or what it should look like. So my wife suggested we go to the chamber of wonders at the Walters. And so we flew down there for a day, and it just cinched it for me. A whole group of children came in while I was there. I had some fears as to whether or not this would be too scary, and it was just the opposite. They go to the scariest stuff first.
