Ralph Gibson
Picnic, Long Island, New York (from the portfolio Seen While Dining)
1994
Cibachrome color print
20”x16”
Gift of Margery Fischer, 2004

Ralph Gibson was born in 1939 and is known for his bold surrealist photography. It’s interesting having a piece in our collection related to Long Island since I grew up in a very rural area of Suffolk County and wanted desperately to move to New York City. The violently red napkins and placemats serve as a reminder to me of the primarily republican and conservative-identifying community I was surrounded by. It’s quite a polarizing contrast compared to living in the city now where I find myself near more like-minded left-aligned people. These red placemats and napkins conceal a softer cream and floral-print tablecloth, seen only slightly in the left bottom corner. There’s a tension in the photo with the multiple forks and knives pointing directly at one another, which to me parallels how Long Island and Manhattan differ so greatly yet are neighbors. This photograph was developed using a Cibachrome technique, which is also known as Ilfochrome. This involves printing the image onto a polyester-base instead of paper to help retain the color purity and clarity over time. Gibson currently resides in NYC and is still making work. 

Written by Jess DeAngelis, graduate student in the Arts Administration program at Baruch.