K.H. Hödicke
West-Side-Drive-Squeegee

The motif for this photo multiple was already captured by Hödicke in 1966 during a stay in New York. The title West-Side-Drive-Squeegee names both the location of the shot and the tool Hödicke used here: the view through a fogged-up car windscreen on New York’s West Side Drive has been partially cleared with a window wiper. The onomatopoeic “squeegee” of a squeaking wiper and the blurred grey-on-grey of the photograph convey the atmosphere of a rainy, misty day – yet provide barely any clear view of the outside, which faintly suggests the Hudson River’s shoreline. Questions of seeing and perception come to the fore. As in other edition pieces by Hödicke, a handheld window wiper is used here – but this time we see only the trace of its action.
The photo multiple was originally planned as a large-format version of the motif, mounted on canvas, in an edition of twelve copies. In 1973, however, only a single copy was produced, which is now part of the Berlinische Galerie’s collection. On the occasion of the exhibition K.H. Hödicke. Original + Fälschung in 2017 at Edition Block, an attempt was made to realise the planned edition. Since the original photograph was no longer available, a facsimile was made from the existing copy of the edition to serve as a template for further prints, but its quality proved insufficient for completing the edition.
Text: Birgit Eusterschulte