In his Torn Porn, The Acquisition of the Image series, Calder became frustrated by reading through an art book in a public library only to find that many of the images had been torn out. The destruction of these library books is mostly due to patrons tearing out the more titillating images for masturbatory purposes. He was first attracted to the tear lines visually as their simplicity and visual depth mimicked that of a Hiroshi Sugimoto seascape. “I noticed how similar this effect seemed to those tear lines in the spines of books and found that I could create a similar vastness and ethereality through my own photography.” He photographed the tear lines, which juxtapose the fields of color with their origin in a destructive and perverse action. During this continual cataloging and documentation, he has amassed over two thousand images. He used several of these images along with a projection instillation in a show at the Crystal City Motel in April 2007. To preserve the image’s roots in documentation, he was influenced by Wolfgang Tillman and the way he displays his photographs on flat surfaces and in nontraditional locations to create a connection with the photographs as sculpture. The viewers were able to interact with the photographs on the walls, on tables, in beds, in a sleazy “gallery” environment that reflected the images seedy origins. Since then Torn Porn has been shown in more reputable locations and resides in several private collections in DC, MD, NY, SC and Finland.

Crystal City Motel, Crystal City Virginia

Depot Gallery, Clinton SC