George Spencer, Seducing the Babysitter, Tuesday, April 1, 2003, 11-12 am
Matthew Pillsbury, American, born 1973
negative April 1, 2003 (11-12 a.m.); print 2005
Pigment ink print
6/10
Image: 31 5/16 × 39 13/16 in. (79.6 × 101.1 cm)
Sheet: 38 × 44 3/16 in. (96.5 × 112.2 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Maggie Hunt, Class of 1978
© Matthew Pillsbury
2005.10
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
21st century
Object Name
Photograph
Research Area
Photograph
Not on view
Inscriptions
Signed, in graphite, lower right: TV03039, 6/10, 1/21/2005 Matthew Pillsbury [name underlined]; inscribed, in graphite, lower left: George Spencer, Seducing the Babysitter, Tuesday April 1st 2003, 11-12am
Label
In Matthew Pillsbury’s photograph, the use of long-exposure techniques causes the man to fade into the background while the TV screen becomes a glowing portal, drawing attention away from the physical space around him. The TV seems to offer an alluring escape, a pull that dominates his attention and isolates him from the world outside. This visual approach reflects theorist Guy Debord’s critique of television, where the medium serves as a spectacle that isolates viewers, drawing them deeper into its grasp. The title, which includes the name of the television program, Seducing the Babysitter, reflects this dynamic, suggesting an almost intimate relationship with the screen—a pull that distracts and dominates, blurring the lines between reality and the mediated world. The composition of the photograph is divided by a pole, with the TV on the right and the man, George Spencer, on the left, emphasizing their separation. The windows—three on the left and two on the right—further divide the space, creating a boundary between the private, contained world inside and the open, visible world outside. Despite the wide-openness of the windows, the man is entirely absorbed in his interaction with the TV.
From the 2025 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 127, Separation Perfected, curated by Dominic Folkes ’25, Mellon Special Project Intern
Course History
SART 29, Photography I, Virginia Beahan, Spring 2012
SART 65, Architecture I, Karol Kawiaka, Spring 2012
SART 65, Architecture I, Karol Kawiaka, Spring 2013
SART 29, Photography I, Virginia Beahan, Summer 2013
SART 65, Architecture I, Karol Kawiaka, Winter 2014
HUM 1, Dialogues with the Classics, Paul Carranza, Caroline Dever, Andrea Tarnowski, Timothy Pulju, Fall 2015
Exhibition History
A Space for Dialogue 127, Separation Perfected, Dominic Folkes ’25, Mellon Special Project Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, November 8, 2025 - January 4, 2026
A Space for Dialogue 72, Escaping the Moment, Seeing Time in Photography, Chanon (Kenji) Praepipatmongkol, Class of 2013, Mellon Special Project Curatorial Intern, Main Lobby, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 18-September 23, 2012.
Celebrating Twenty Years: Gifts in Honor of the Hood Museum of Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 11-December 12, 2005.
Publication History
Katherine W. Hart et al., Celebrating Twenty Years: Gifts in Honor of the Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2005, pp. 104, ill. p. 105, cat. no. 45.
Brian P. Kennedy and Emily Shubert Burke, Modern and Contemporary Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, Hanover: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2009, p.209, no.273.
Chanon (Kenji) Praepipatmongkol, A Space for Dialogue 72, Escaping the Moment, Seeing Time In Photography, Hanover, New Hampshire: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 2012, ill. p. 1.
Provenance
Bonni Benrubi Gallery, Inc., New York, New York; sold to Maggie Hunt, Jackson, Wyoming, December 16, 2004; given to present collection, 2005.
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