Matt Siber

Matt Siber's (born 1972) photographs are deceptively simple with profound cultural implications. He often works as part of the group of "Chicagraphers" with fellow artists Jon Gitelson and Brian Ulrich, who are also represented by Galerie f5,6. This loose grouping, without a radical political manifesto of an artist's group such as DADA, ZERO, the Blue Rider, the Surrealists, the Minimalists etc. of the last Century, simply states "A small sampling of the many good talents in our city by the lake." All artists incorporate new media in particular the web and within this the blog into their art.

In The Untitled Project, Siber photographs familiar urban scenes, ranging from department store makeup counters to bustling expressways, and digitally removes all the textual elements that are then presented on a second panel, paired directly next to the photographic image.
This single manipulation reveals insights about our culture. Our lives are saturated by text in the form of commercial signage. In a testament to the effectiveness of advertising, the photographs seem to be naked but colour, design and other graphic elements still convey the branding. We are so accustomed to that visual language that at first look the panel might not even reveal their manipulation – reminding us of Pavlovian response.
In the Floating Logo series, Siber presents luminous corporate logos, digitally disconnected from the moorings that anchor them to the earth. These corporations' symbols seem like a messianic return: The historical deities are gone, replaced by new corporate demigods.
This series, as well as The Untitled Project, addresses the pervasive nature of corporate presence.

"Siber's strategic digital manipulation alters our perception of the familiar and commonplace. His photographs shatter the careful manicured facade of the advertising industry, make the explicit implicit and shake us away from our daily sleepwalk through the clutter of competing corporate messages" Nate Larsson (Professor of Photography at Elgin Community College).

Siber's work is exhibited throughout the US and is starting to be shown frequently in Europe. His work is held in the following public collections: The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL. The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL. The Aaron Siskind Foundation Fellows Collection, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, COFF Foundation, San Sebastián, Spain. Matt Siber teaches at Columbia College.