"Photography Against Itself," an exhibit at the Bayly Art Museum, recognizes that photography's place in the art world has never been well defined. From the moment of its introduction, the photo supplanted the work of many artists, who came to view it with contempt. Artists could not compete with the medium's hyperrealism, and began a series of movements that emphasized distortion as a means of communication.
Photographers, meanwhile, were too busy exploring the possibilities of their new medium to form any clear movement. The inherent clarity of the photo made it an ideal visual diary for the world. Few people had experienced war, but Mathew Brady's Civil War photos placed them on the front lines. As the years marched on, photos faithfully documented everything from the smallest microbes to the landscape of the moon. The most famous photos have stressed realism over their aesthetic qualities. People have come to see photography as a faithful, accurate chronicler of the world.
|
"Photography Against Itself" questions the validity of this notion. Stephen Margulies, curator of the exhibit, asks, "Is photography suicidally turning against its traditional role as the most dependable mirror of the soul, or is it creating newer, flashier, more anguished but also more ecstatic higher realities?" The works, all relatively modern, question the role of photography in an age of advanced editing techniques and computer generated imagery.
One of the most prominent photos in the exhibit is Abelardo Morell's "Camera Obscura Image of the Empire State Building." By covering all but a small part of his bedroom window, Morell projects an inverse image of the Empire State Building on his wall. The dresser and the bed stand in clear opposition to the building.
Although nothing in Morell's photo is distorted, he was able to depersonalize the entire bedroom through this simple projection. The personal effects on the dresser and the covers on the bed are lost to this monument of the New York skyline. Morell's photo combines two worlds, and the bedroom takes on the atmosphere of a city. Individualism remains in the background.
Sometimes reality can be amplified in a photo. Tina Barney's "Marina's Room" depicts a father in his daughter's bedroom. Although taken in 1987, Barney makes it look like a Victorian genre painting. The lacy overhang of the bed, the open closet doors and the girl's ribbon-adorned hair are a temporary impression caught on film. Yet Barney attaches an importance to this fleeting scene. The size of the room, fullness of the closet, and father's presence rise above simple physical traits and come to define and describe the family.
James Welling's "Untitled # 90" defies any traditional description. Slightly out of focus and high in contrast, the image borders on being unintelligible. The viewer only learns this is a portrait of Jell-O after reading the place card.
Welling could have easily made the Jell-O recognizable by changing a few technical aspects of the photo, but he chose to take it in this confusing and relatively abstract manner. Whatever his intentions were, the photo does not emphasize clarity as its primary quality.
Although contemporary photography is rooted in an unadorned realism, it is certain that new ideas and styles will move it in many different directions. While "Photography Against Itself" is a modest exhibit, it captures the earliest stages of this change.
Read More
Letting go of my first year FOMO
By Mai Hukuoka | 26 minutes agoIn an attempt to transition to University life, I found myself saying “yes” to way too many things, which left me feeling detached from my surroundings rather than at home on Grounds.
Days on the Lawn gives newly admitted Class of 2028 a taste of Grounds
By Miriella Jiffar and Mia Tan | 2 days agoThe annual spring program invites newly admitted students and their families to experience information sessions, resource fairs and tours around Grounds.
The weight of saying “I love you”
By Mai Hukuoka | 4 days agoWhile grand gestures can't fully describe the weight of love, that doesn't mean love has to be small. Love can, and should, feel heavy.
