…the OTHER exhibit at Bowdoin
I read Dan Kany’s terrific article in the Maine Sunday Telegram about the Warhol polaroid exhibit at Bowdoin College Museum of Art and stopped in a couple of days ago. I learned much more from Dan’s article than the actual work and only spent a couple of minutes in the Warhol exhibit room.
Mostly because on the way to that exhibit, I passed through the other exhibit of photography on the walls at the Museum…I hadn’t known about it because I’ve had a terrible time, with the personnel changes at the Art Museum, getting on any mailing list. Kevin Salatino, new Director at the Museum, assures me at long last I will be informed.
In Focus: Photographs from the Permanent Collection will be on exhibit until March 14, so here’s something really worthwhile to do for rainy day fun if you’ve looked at the forecast for the next eternity. For me, falling over dozens of photographs to look at unexpectedly was a big high.
My favorite in the exhibit was the Burtynsky – “Silver Lake Operations #1, Lake Lefroy, Western Australia, 2007.” Seemingly taken when Mr. Burtynsky hovered over the mine like a bird, it is a stunning example of his work. The clarity is something you need to take some time to study.
Just as unforgettable is the chromogenic print by Shai Kremer: “View of a Minefield, Abandoned Syrian Base, Golan Heights, 200?”. If you’re as tired of abandoned building shots as I am, here’s the ultimate panacea. Look at the photograph a while before you re-read the title. Be prepared to be stung by what you perceived vs. the reality of the scene. Isn’t this what photography is all about? No other medium, no words could say it like this. The lovely view out of the “picture window”. The ugly reality. Amazing.
Photograph copyright Shai Kremer. All rights reserved.
Another chance to study a complex photograph is provided by the Sally Mann image Untitled (Georgia), 1996. Almost next to it is a powerful ektacolor print by Richard Misrach – Diving Board, Salton Sea, 1983.
Photograph copyright Richard Misrach. All rights reserved.
You’ll see some wonderful classic images like Weegee’s Children Sleeping on Fire Escape, 1938, and images by Abbott, Bing, Cunningham, De Carava, Kertész, Strand, Sherman and R. Capa. Shore and Morell are there too. Two beautiful photogravures will stop you in your tracks: Alvin Langon Coburn’s The White Cloud, 1911, and one of my favorite Stieglitz images: The Hand of Man, 1902. I really appreciated seeing a color print from 1917 – a Hess-Ives color print by Karl Stuss – Untitled, from the Series The Female Figure, 1917.
Children Sleeping on Fire Escape, 1938 © Weegee. All rights reserved.
While you’re at the Museum, take the time to enjoy the “Learning to Paint” exhibit on the same floor. The forecast is rain, remember, so plan on spending a while to soak up everything the Museum has to offer these days.
