Ben Spiewak

“I began my time at MassArt back in the Spring of 2019 with the Saturday Studios program.”

- Fun Fact about Ben

Artist statement

American Field Notes is an examination of urban American transportation traditions, posing questions to myself and the viewer about the existence of the system as well as our place within it. The photographs are a manifestation of my observations and questions about automobile transportation as someone who doesn’t drive. America’s reliance and commoditization of cars is strangely absurd. The way automobiles themselves are privatised, commercialised seasonally with a holiday sale, and aren’t federally distributed raises a big question for me: who does this system truly serve? In order to even participate in America’s transportation system, one has to spend thousands of dollars to not only buy a car, but also everything that comes with owning one: insurance, gas, inspections, occasional repairs. The privatised automotive industry is the only way to take part in the federally regulated roads, which is how the United States has connected city to city, town to town. My practice is grounded in material. Drawing upon my background in contemporary sculpture, I notice parts of the system rooted in materials I’m familiar with: steel, cast iron, wood, concrete, and how they further allow me to reflect on these systems. I turn to photography to document both my own thoughts on the matter as well as the system I’m observing. Ultimately, I’m asking the viewer to consider their own place alongside me, questioning what really is American transportation in a modern context?

Biography

Boston, MA

Ben Spiewak is a photographer, sculptor, and writer. The work Spiewak makes is a manifestation of his curiosity of seemingly ordinary structures, forms, spaces, and systems. He is interested in the act of noticing out in the world and how it can bring new understandings. Photographically working mainly with a 4x5 view camera, Spiewak meticulously crafts his images in a slow and thoughtful way. His process for sculptures and writing pieces are similarly slow and methodical. He sees his recent work as questions and musings about the world around him and invites the viewer to take on his curiosity for themselves. The act of asking is a big part of his studio practice. Spiewak is currently attending Massachusetts College of Art and Design, expected to graduate in 2024.

Interview

Michael - Being a close peer I have seen your practice of art making grow and develop and your love for the city infrastructure bloom. I was hoping to hear you talk a little about the spark that started this developing passion for city transit and the underlying automotive industry that structures our society.

Ben - My passion for city transit and urban planning really began Freshman year from the class “Cities and Society” and the student group Iron Corps. Iron Corps opened my eyes to the materiality of our world, of what things are made of and how they are made. Cities and Society changed the way I noticed the world. The class changed how I noticed parts of the world and encouraged me to ask questions and wonder about how systems work. With these two combined, my mindset shifted when being out in the world, becoming more observant and curious as I traverse.

Michael - There is also a duality in your way of making your work. You work with two different cameras to create your imagery in your newest work American Field Notes. You use an analogue 4x5 field camera as well as a medium format digital camera. How do these different tools help influence your work and your way of making? Do you find that you receive different results by using different tools for creating?

Ben - I switch off between the two cameras when I want to speed up or slow down my photographing process. Oftentimes I need to speed up my process in auto shops, for example, due to the fast paced shifting environment. I slow down with my 4x5 when I’m out on the sidewalk, or in quieter interior locations. But honestly most of the time I just want a break from either camera. Some days I’m missing my camera movements when I’m out in the field with my Fuji, other days it’s the opposite, I’ll want the quickness that my digital camera offers. I’ve grown to embrace a fluidity with my tools.

Michael - I was reminded of your sculptural art when I was looking at your website in preparation for this interview. Metal is everywhere in our city and you have a very direct and knowledgeable relationship with metals and how it moves and how it can be used with your metal practices. I was hoping to hear about the ways in which you connect your metalwork with your photographic work, the ways in which they inform one another and how it affects your thinking of our modern cityscapes.

Ben - Well my sculpture practice originated from contemporary cast iron sculpture, a very new and popular community. Having worked with iron, steel, bronze, aluminum, copper, I’ve thought about material in a different way. I have knowledge of how the materials are handled, how they’re made, the history of them, the uses for each. Metal has influenced my photographic eye. And the photographic informs my sculpture work, what I see in the world, what I notice through photographs enter the sculptural domain.

Michael - Recently it seems your work has evolved with the inclusion of the automotive world. You have been producing numerous portraits and still life images to include with your city-scapes and your everyday street scenes. I am curious about how you want these images to interact with your old images and what your purpose is in including these images with your old ones? What new perspective are you including?

Ben - These photographs aim to provide context and insight behind the system. I’ve made a lot of work in the system found in the public space, but there are mechanisms that aren’t public that are incredibly important. City streets are built for cars, the system itself is built for cars, and I really wanted to go inside the private spaces that are essential for maintaining cars. Auto shops and dealerships are really important to the project because they represent a privatized capitalist space that modern American transportation can exist without. I believe that the people who work there know the system the best. My photographs in these spaces are the things I notice, which sounds very vague and broad, but for example, the image I made of the messy desk of papers, it’s moments like those that fascinate me, that I notice and make me wonder about automotive culture.

Michael - Going off of my previous question and continuing that conversation I am wondering what you feel your work is still missing? Are there aspects of the city and transportation that you feel like are not currently included within your work or things that you feel should be represented by this project that are not currently?

BS: There are still a lot of places that I want to get into that relate to transportation. A big one is a USPS shipping facility. I think a lot about how our mail system is directly linked to American transportation. Mail trucks come to mind all the time, these automobiles with the sole purpose of moving packages around, rather than people. Vehicles that are owned by organizations. So I want to get into that. Locally there are still a bunch of shops that I want to go to, some towing services too, as well as MBTA facilities.

Michael - One might not think of it but titling a series of images and labeling a project with a few words is a hard task for artists. Titles have the ability to assign an underlying theme or context to a work that might not previously have been there or add nuance that might not be read by the images alone. You’ve titled your project American Field Notes. I was hoping you could shed some light on why you chose this title and when you decided that it fit your current ongoing project.

Ben - Yeah so the name American Field Notes originates from the practice of observational note taking out in the world. With this project I’m observing American transportation traditions and noting my observations and thoughts in photographic form. The name felt like what I was doing, taking notes.

Michael - I know in the past you have remarked Stephen Shore as one of your big photographic influences for the work on your project. I agree with you that his work is beautiful and awe inspiring to look at but I believe that everyone can look at one's artwork and have a different take away than the previous person. I am curious to hear what Stephen Shore’s work inspires in your photographic practice? Are there any other notable influences that are inspiring your work?

Ben - Stephen Shore’s philosophy of image making resonates with me a lot. His intentionality, patience, and eye for detail has impacted me greatly. He is a very meticulous image maker, and his images keep the viewer easily engaged. I have an affinity for this kind of work. Other influences include Shane Rocheleau, his books You are Masters of the Fish and Birds and All the Animals (2018) and Lakeside (2022), Will Warasila and his book, Quicker Than Coal Ash (2022), and Jason Koxvold and his book Knives (2017). These three make very different work in terms of concept, but their image making style I’ve started to gravitate towards.

Michael - A Final thought for you Ben as we wrap up this interview. I was hoping you could talk about the direction you hope to continue your work or where you plan on taking your camera next. Do you think that this is a continuous project you hope to explore for the extended future or do you have something on the horizon that you are looking to explore and waiting to move on to?

Ben - I definitely plan on continuing American Field Notes, I still have many more images left to make. But I’m beginning to think beyond just Boston. I have my sights on Albany, New York, and I’m going to soon be looking for traces that the Boston Albany Railroad have left on the landscape since its closing in 1961. This part of American history has fascinated me for some time. Sculpturally, I’m working with traffic signs, printing on traffic signs, and mounting them to poles. There’s a lot I want to explore with that. Many many new