Predicting the Future
ALA 350
Cameron Gibelyou (Lecturer in Applied Liberal Arts)
On view: Winter 2023
Buky Schwartz, Line A-C, 1971, mixed media, wool | canvas, Gift in honor of Dr. E. Bryce and Harriet Alpern, by their children
“Predicting the Future” considers topics ranging from representations of the future in literature to the science of predicting complex systems, such as climate. The art on display helps viewers consider how our predictions about the future are shaped by ideologies of progress and our assumptions about the relationship between humans and technology.
You may notice that many of the images we selected for this display are composed around a diagonal line that extends from the lower left of the image to the upper right. This is not a coincidence. Images of subjects that represent technological change, such as cities, railroads, and factories, repeatedly use this diagonal to visually represent stories of progress.
How does attending to the way that artists use this diagonal to suggest progress narratives help us read predictions about the future in their work and see what insights or critiques they offer about modernity, society, or technology?
When students in “Predicting the Future” come to UMMA for a class session, the first thing we ask them to do is draw a line that represents progress on a notecard. Nearly all of them make a line that extends from the lower left to the upper right. Why is this the most fundamental visual representation of progress in our minds? We’ve speculated about x and y graphs and their prominence in visualization of things like the stock market; metaphorical meanings of up and down; and the left-to-right direction of reading in many world languages. Our idea of the line of progress may also be shaped by the representations of the modern world on display in this collection.
Works included in this collection
Accession Number
1940.215
Title
Progress
Artist(s)
Wilfred Byron Shaw
Object Creation Date
circa 1925
Medium & Support
etching on paper
Dimensions
18 1/16 x 22 1/16 in. (45.8 x 56 cm);8 11/16 x 11 7/16 in. (22 x 29 cm);15 3/16 x 18 9/16 in. (38.5 x 47 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Prof. and Mrs. Alfred H. White
Primary Object Classification
Print
Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
1940.215
Title
Progress
Artist(s)
Wilfred Byron Shaw
Object Creation Date
circa 1925
Medium & Support
etching on paper
Dimensions
18 1/16 x 22 1/16 in. (45.8 x 56 cm);8 11/16 x 11 7/16 in. (22 x 29 cm);15 3/16 x 18 9/16 in. (38.5 x 47 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Prof. and Mrs. Alfred H. White
Primary Object Classification
Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Wilfred Byron Shaw
Progress
etching on paper
18 1/16 x 22 1/16 in. (45.8 x 56 cm);8 11/16 x 11 7/16 in. (22 x 29 cm);15 3/16 x 18 9/16 in. (38.5 x 47 cm)
Gift of Prof. and Mrs. Alfred H. White
Progress
etching on paper
18 1/16 x 22 1/16 in. (45.8 x 56 cm);8 11/16 x 11 7/16 in. (22 x 29 cm);15 3/16 x 18 9/16 in. (38.5 x 47 cm)
Gift of Prof. and Mrs. Alfred H. White
Accession Number
1971/2.138
Title
Main Street, Saratoga Springs, New York
Artist(s)
Walker Evans
Artist Nationality
American (North American)
Object Creation Date
1931
Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper
Dimensions
7 3/8 in x 6 5/16 in (18.73 cm x 16.03 cm);22 1/8 in x 18 in (56.2 cm x 45.72 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase made possible by the Friends of the Museum of Art
Subject matter
As a historical tourist destination known for racing and gambling since the eighteenth century, Saratoga Springs drew the team of Lincoln Kirstein, John Brooks Wheelwright, and Walker Evans on an expedition to photograph Victorian buildings that were in danger of being demolished. In this photograph, a stream of black cars are pictured parked along the length of a rainy street bounded by stores and elegant hotels. The romantic mood conveyed in this scene stands in contrast to the dryness and frontality that would later become the hallmark of Evans' style.
Physical Description
Elevated view of a rain-glazed street lined with parked cars and trees.
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
1971/2.138
Title
Main Street, Saratoga Springs, New York
Artist(s)
Walker Evans
Artist Nationality
American (North American)
Object Creation Date
1931
Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper
Dimensions
7 3/8 in x 6 5/16 in (18.73 cm x 16.03 cm);22 1/8 in x 18 in (56.2 cm x 45.72 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase made possible by the Friends of the Museum of Art
Subject matter
As a historical tourist destination known for racing and gambling since the eighteenth century, Saratoga Springs drew the team of Lincoln Kirstein, John Brooks Wheelwright, and Walker Evans on an expedition to photograph Victorian buildings that were in danger of being demolished. In this photograph, a stream of black cars are pictured parked along the length of a rainy street bounded by stores and elegant hotels. The romantic mood conveyed in this scene stands in contrast to the dryness and frontality that would later become the hallmark of Evans' style.
Physical Description
Elevated view of a rain-glazed street lined with parked cars and trees.
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Walker Evans
Main Street, Saratoga Springs, New York
gelatin silver print on paper
7 3/8 in x 6 5/16 in (18.73 cm x 16.03 cm);22 1/8 in x 18 in (56.2 cm x 45.72 cm)
Museum Purchase made possible by the Friends of the Museum of Art
Main Street, Saratoga Springs, New York
gelatin silver print on paper
7 3/8 in x 6 5/16 in (18.73 cm x 16.03 cm);22 1/8 in x 18 in (56.2 cm x 45.72 cm)
Museum Purchase made possible by the Friends of the Museum of Art
Accession Number
1989/1.53
Title
Malloy's Cut, Sherman Station, Laramie Range
Artist(s)
Andrew Russell
Artist Nationality
American (North American)
Object Creation Date
1868
Medium & Support
albumen print on paper
Dimensions
8 in x 9 13/16 in (20.32 cm x 24.92 cm);14 5/16 in x 19 5/16 in (36.35 cm x 49.05 cm);8 in x 9 13/16 in (20.32 cm x 24.92 cm);5 15/16 in x 8 in (15.08 cm x 20.32 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Howard Bond
Subject matter
This photograph depicts a ground-level view of a train track running through a freshly excavated passage. Running diagonally away from the camera, the track enters the frame in lower left corner, the roughly hewn railroad ties and iron tracks stretching into the distance. On either side of the track, the walls of the manmade passage rise steeply upwards. Cleaved out of the rock and soil in the train’s way, Malloy’s Cut allows the railroad to continue onwards unfettered by the natural topography before it. A lone man stands to the right of the tracks in the center of the frame, one leg raised on the banks, slightly turned away from the viewer and gazing into the distance. The man’s stance evokes the industrious and determined spirit of the time. This pose, paired with the railroad running out of sight, speaks to the enthusiastic momentum of American westward expansion of the time.
Physical Description
This photograph depicts railroad tracks cutting through a man-made passage. To the right of the tracks stands a lone man looking into the distance.
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
1989/1.53
Title
Malloy's Cut, Sherman Station, Laramie Range
Artist(s)
Andrew Russell
Artist Nationality
American (North American)
Object Creation Date
1868
Medium & Support
albumen print on paper
Dimensions
8 in x 9 13/16 in (20.32 cm x 24.92 cm);14 5/16 in x 19 5/16 in (36.35 cm x 49.05 cm);8 in x 9 13/16 in (20.32 cm x 24.92 cm);5 15/16 in x 8 in (15.08 cm x 20.32 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Howard Bond
Subject matter
This photograph depicts a ground-level view of a train track running through a freshly excavated passage. Running diagonally away from the camera, the track enters the frame in lower left corner, the roughly hewn railroad ties and iron tracks stretching into the distance. On either side of the track, the walls of the manmade passage rise steeply upwards. Cleaved out of the rock and soil in the train’s way, Malloy’s Cut allows the railroad to continue onwards unfettered by the natural topography before it. A lone man stands to the right of the tracks in the center of the frame, one leg raised on the banks, slightly turned away from the viewer and gazing into the distance. The man’s stance evokes the industrious and determined spirit of the time. This pose, paired with the railroad running out of sight, speaks to the enthusiastic momentum of American westward expansion of the time.
Physical Description
This photograph depicts railroad tracks cutting through a man-made passage. To the right of the tracks stands a lone man looking into the distance.
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Andrew Russell
Malloy's Cut, Sherman Station, Laramie Range
albumen print on paper
8 in x 9 13/16 in (20.32 cm x 24.92 cm);14 5/16 in x 19 5/16 in (36.35 cm x 49.05 cm);8 in x 9 13/16 in (20.32 cm x 24.92 cm);5 15/16 in x 8 in (15.08 cm x 20.32 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Howard Bond
Malloy's Cut, Sherman Station, Laramie Range
albumen print on paper
8 in x 9 13/16 in (20.32 cm x 24.92 cm);14 5/16 in x 19 5/16 in (36.35 cm x 49.05 cm);8 in x 9 13/16 in (20.32 cm x 24.92 cm);5 15/16 in x 8 in (15.08 cm x 20.32 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Howard Bond
Accession Number
1972/1.167
Title
Fifth Avenue, from the St. Regis
Artist(s)
Alvin Langdon Coburn
Artist Nationality
British (modern)
Object Creation Date
1910
Medium & Support
photogravure on paper
Dimensions
7 3/8 in x 5 7/8 in (18.7 cm x 14.9 cm);14 3/8 in x 19 3/8 in (36.5 cm x 49.2 cm);7 7/8 in x 6 1/4 in (20 cm x 15.9 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Label copy
The soft-focus that dominated pictorialism was employed by Coburn in this image looking down Fifth Avenue from the St. Regis Hotel. In the gathering gloom, the spires of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the left and the tower of St. Thomas Episcopal Church at the right create an evocative atmosphere that belies the reality of New York in 1910. In his foreword to New York, H.G. Wells noted that this image of the City was his least favorite. He stated that he’d never seen New York look hazy, and Fifth Avenue, from the St. Regis represents the City in an uncharacteristically reflective mood. The towering energy of Wall Street is more in keeping with New York, but this elegiac view of Fifth Avenue may signal the disappearance of the City that would have been familiar to Henry James and Edith Wharton.
Carole McNamara, Assistant Director for Collections & Exhibitions
on the occasion of the exhibition New York Observed: The Mythology of the City
(July 13 – September 22, 2003)
This image of Fifth Avenue is reproduced (pl. 18) in Coburn's "New York," published in 1910.
Subject matter
This photograph frames an elevated view down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Glowing orbs from the street lamps below dot the sides of the avenue, which diagonally bisects the vertical image. Buildings, churches, and cathedrals are sillouetted against the foggy atmosphere that envelope the cityscape. This image, made from the high vantage point provided by the St. Regis Hotel, served as Plate 18 in Coburn's book New York.
Physical Description
Elevated and angled view down Fifth Avenue from the St. Regis Hotel in New York City.
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
1972/1.167
Title
Fifth Avenue, from the St. Regis
Artist(s)
Alvin Langdon Coburn
Artist Nationality
British (modern)
Object Creation Date
1910
Medium & Support
photogravure on paper
Dimensions
7 3/8 in x 5 7/8 in (18.7 cm x 14.9 cm);14 3/8 in x 19 3/8 in (36.5 cm x 49.2 cm);7 7/8 in x 6 1/4 in (20 cm x 15.9 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Purchase
Label copy
The soft-focus that dominated pictorialism was employed by Coburn in this image looking down Fifth Avenue from the St. Regis Hotel. In the gathering gloom, the spires of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the left and the tower of St. Thomas Episcopal Church at the right create an evocative atmosphere that belies the reality of New York in 1910. In his foreword to New York, H.G. Wells noted that this image of the City was his least favorite. He stated that he’d never seen New York look hazy, and Fifth Avenue, from the St. Regis represents the City in an uncharacteristically reflective mood. The towering energy of Wall Street is more in keeping with New York, but this elegiac view of Fifth Avenue may signal the disappearance of the City that would have been familiar to Henry James and Edith Wharton.
Carole McNamara, Assistant Director for Collections & Exhibitions
on the occasion of the exhibition New York Observed: The Mythology of the City
(July 13 – September 22, 2003)
This image of Fifth Avenue is reproduced (pl. 18) in Coburn's "New York," published in 1910.
Subject matter
This photograph frames an elevated view down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Glowing orbs from the street lamps below dot the sides of the avenue, which diagonally bisects the vertical image. Buildings, churches, and cathedrals are sillouetted against the foggy atmosphere that envelope the cityscape. This image, made from the high vantage point provided by the St. Regis Hotel, served as Plate 18 in Coburn's book New York.
Physical Description
Elevated and angled view down Fifth Avenue from the St. Regis Hotel in New York City.
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Alvin Langdon Coburn
Fifth Avenue, from the St. Regis
photogravure on paper
7 3/8 in x 5 7/8 in (18.7 cm x 14.9 cm);14 3/8 in x 19 3/8 in (36.5 cm x 49.2 cm);7 7/8 in x 6 1/4 in (20 cm x 15.9 cm)
Museum Purchase
Fifth Avenue, from the St. Regis
photogravure on paper
7 3/8 in x 5 7/8 in (18.7 cm x 14.9 cm);14 3/8 in x 19 3/8 in (36.5 cm x 49.2 cm);7 7/8 in x 6 1/4 in (20 cm x 15.9 cm)
Museum Purchase
Accession Number
2002/2.298
Title
The Rouge Study #60, Dearborn, MI
Artist(s)
Michael Kenna
Object Creation Date
1994; printed 1995
Medium & Support
sepia-toned gelatin silver print on paper
Dimensions
7 15/16 in x 7 1/2 in (20.2 cm x 19 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Shirley Kollins in memory of Lee Kollins
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Primary Object Type
black and white print
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
2002/2.298
Title
The Rouge Study #60, Dearborn, MI
Artist(s)
Michael Kenna
Object Creation Date
1994; printed 1995
Medium & Support
sepia-toned gelatin silver print on paper
Dimensions
7 15/16 in x 7 1/2 in (20.2 cm x 19 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Shirley Kollins in memory of Lee Kollins
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Primary Object Type
black and white print
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Michael Kenna
The Rouge Study #60, Dearborn, MI
sepia-toned gelatin silver print on paper
7 15/16 in x 7 1/2 in (20.2 cm x 19 cm)
Gift of Shirley Kollins in memory of Lee Kollins
The Rouge Study #60, Dearborn, MI
sepia-toned gelatin silver print on paper
7 15/16 in x 7 1/2 in (20.2 cm x 19 cm)
Gift of Shirley Kollins in memory of Lee Kollins
Accession Number
2010/2.47.4
Title
Perfect Future, from "The Silver Edition, Volume I"
Artist(s)
Ralph Gibson
Artist Nationality
American (North American)
Object Creation Date
1972
Medium & Support
photograph on fiber paper
Dimensions
19 1/16 in x 13 in (48.5 cm x 33 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Selma and Gerry Lotenberg
Subject matter
Ralph Gibson is well known for publishing his photographs in book form and he created his own company, Lustrum Press, in New York City in 1969.This work is from "Déjà-Vu" (1972), one of the books that established his career as a creative photographer. "I embrace the abstract in photography and exist on a few bits of order, extracted from the chaos of reality. ["Light Years" 1996]
Physical Description
This is a black and white photograph with an elevated point of view. It depicts a thick diagonal white line on pavement with a figure standing on the left beside it. The figure is only partially shown with a dark silhouette, but details of his shoe, placed parallel the to white line, are precise. The figure holds a long thin plank of wood at his side that mimics the diagonal white line.
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Primary Object Type
black and white print
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
2010/2.47.4
Title
Perfect Future, from "The Silver Edition, Volume I"
Artist(s)
Ralph Gibson
Artist Nationality
American (North American)
Object Creation Date
1972
Medium & Support
photograph on fiber paper
Dimensions
19 1/16 in x 13 in (48.5 cm x 33 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Selma and Gerry Lotenberg
Subject matter
Ralph Gibson is well known for publishing his photographs in book form and he created his own company, Lustrum Press, in New York City in 1969.This work is from "Déjà-Vu" (1972), one of the books that established his career as a creative photographer. "I embrace the abstract in photography and exist on a few bits of order, extracted from the chaos of reality. ["Light Years" 1996]
Physical Description
This is a black and white photograph with an elevated point of view. It depicts a thick diagonal white line on pavement with a figure standing on the left beside it. The figure is only partially shown with a dark silhouette, but details of his shoe, placed parallel the to white line, are precise. The figure holds a long thin plank of wood at his side that mimics the diagonal white line.
Primary Object Classification
Photograph
Primary Object Type
black and white print
Collection Area
Photography
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Ralph Gibson
Perfect Future, from "The Silver Edition, Volume I"
photograph on fiber paper
19 1/16 in x 13 in (48.5 cm x 33 cm)
Gift of Selma and Gerry Lotenberg
Perfect Future, from "The Silver Edition, Volume I"
photograph on fiber paper
19 1/16 in x 13 in (48.5 cm x 33 cm)
Gift of Selma and Gerry Lotenberg
MORE COURSES IN CURRICULUM / COLLECTION
Exhibition Support
Lead support for this exhibition is provided by the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, Erica Gervais Pappendick and Ted Pappendick, the Eleanor Noyes Crumpacker Endowment Fund, and the Oakriver Foundation.