VoxPhotographs Weblog

If you are heading to NYC before Sept. 1, take time to visit the “Framing a Century” (1840-1940 ) exhibit there. And if not? Well, take a short trip at your leisure and see the a dozen or so images from the exhibit online in the comfort of your own computer chair. That’s what I did. Each image can be enlarged enough to be studied without squinting.

Thirteen photographers revered by photography historians everywhere are featured - from William Henry Fox Talbot to Walker Evans. Almost every twist and turn in the history of the medium is represented and it’s like a visit with old friends.

All images in the exhibit are from the Met’s own photography collection. Everybody will have their favorites, but I went weak in the knees at the first glimpse of Gustave Le Gray’s Tree Study, Forest of Fontainebleau (ca.1856). It is just so lovely, and I had a hard time moving on to the next image.

I got positively light-headed at the sight of Julia Margaret Cameron’s portrait of Philip Stanhope Worsley (1864-66). How the heck did she pull this off?

I realized I was holding my breath while studying Carleton Watkins‘ Cape Horn Near Celilo (1867) and then Atget’s Rue de la Montagne -Sainte Genevieve. They are so fine, there are no words to describe them.

The Brassai is one I’ve never seen before - Introduction at Suzy’s (1932-33) - and the moment he catches is one of a kind.

The Met acquired the priceless Gilman Collection in 2005 and that, together with their own rare holdings, is the source for this exhibit. The extent of the whole archive is hard to get your head around.

I can’t imagine what I’m missing by not seeing this exhibit in person. There’s no catalog to ease the pain. So…heading south, anyone?

I have a love/hate relationship with PHOTOGRAPH, my favorite photography periodical. I love the short articles about new books, new shows, news in general and their cover photographer/image. I love finding out exactly what’s happening in the world of photography just by reading every ad for upcoming shows and looking many up online.

But here are 10 good reasons why I hate PHOTOGRAPH for pointing out what I am missing by not living in NYC. And Atlanta. And Philadelphia. And LA.

1) The launch of the 5 day New York Photography Festival ‘08 on May 14 in a 75,000 square foot exhibition space showcasing contemporary photography.

2) Two shows at Howard Greenburg Gallery/NYC - TIMES SQUARE, and SAUL LEITER -Women (Saul Leiter is one of my very favorite photographers. If you missed the exhibit last year at University of Maine Museum of Art in Bangor, you really blew it.)

3) HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON and HELEN LEVITT at Laurence Miller Gallery/NYC - June - August

4) AARON SISKIND at the Robert Mann Gallery/NYC

5) LEE FRIEDLANDER - Square Portraits at Janet Borden, Inc/NYC

6) W. EUGENE SMITH at Silverstein Photography/NYC

7) WILLIAM GREINER at Klompching Gallery/Brooklyn

8 ) BRUCE DAVIDSON at Jackson Fine Art/Atlanta

9) ARNOLD NEWMAN at Lumiere/Atlanta

10) FRANK PAULIN - Works in Color, 1950-2008, at Duncan Miller Gallery/LA

If the cost of visiting NYC wasn’t so high, I’d be down there for a weekend every other month. I’d find the time. But maybe what I need to find is someone with a place in NYC who would like to spend a weekend every other month in a fabulous condo in the center of Portland, Maine.

Anyone?

When in New York in January, I discovered Fred Herzog, Vancouver photographer extraordinaire. Where I discovered him was the Laurence Miller Gallery at 20 West 57th St in New York (www.laurencemillergallery.com). They were having an exhibit - which ends today, 3/29 by the way - called Post-War Perspectives and it was fascinating. Fifty photographs depicting life in the world between 1945-1960 could have kept me occupied for two hours had I had the time.

Cat in Window with Flat © Charles Harbutt, courtesy of Laurence Miller Gallery/NYC

Barber © Fred Herzog, courtesy of Laurence Miller Gallery/NYC

Tracks© Fan Ho, courtesy of Laurence Miller Gallery/NYC

You know what else I liked about the gallery? They are friendly. I had spent the day going to galleries that were featuring photography shows and had to have nerves of steel at times. Okay, I wasn’t a buyer, but an appreciator and I can imagine that rankles. But you either get totally ignored at many NYC galleries, which, of course, everyone already knows, or if you are acknowledged, you are quickly summed up as worth their time or not.

Not so at the Laurence Miller Gallery in my experience. Not only did the woman in charge of the gallery ((was it Vicki??) not some recent grad from art school, thank goodness) discuss the show and in particular Fred Herzog at length with me, she taught me a lot. She showed me a copy of the now out-of-print recent book of Herzog’s works (and, as per my first posting, I was able to find the last new copy available in North America it seems, at Mirvish Books in Toronto) and genuinely enjoyed passing her time with us discussing his work and other photographs featured on their walls. It made an impression.

Imagine my delight when I opened the current issue of PHOTOGRAPH (www.photographmag.com) to see Laurence Miller Gallery’s ad on the inside front cover listing its upcoming shows through August 2008 featuring three of my all-time favorite photographers, being an afficionado of street photography - Herzog, Cartier-Bresson and Levitt. Then I got an e-mailed newsletter from the gallery telling me more - I had left my card with Vicki (??) and been promptly added to their newsletter list. The one photographer in the upcoming two shows I’m not familiar with is David Plowden and I’ll be researching online this weekend to learn about him.

Laurence Miller and staff - you are expanding my horizons and I thank you for it.

Lee Friedlander: A Ramble in Olmstead Parks

Metroplitan Museum of Art, NYC

through May 11/08

www.metmuseum.org

The book, according to my friend Susan, is pretty fantastic. 

Lee Friedlander Photographs: Frederick Law Olmstead Landscapes ($85.)

She also saw the show and said it was astounding. The show is about 40 images culled from over 20 years of shooting. Would that every photographer could be so committed to showing only their best!

Scott Peterman is featured with New York images at High Pictures through March 29, 2008. If you see the show, please send a comment. From the Higher Pictures press release:Peterman, who has photographed other mega-cities including Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Cairo and Tokyo, focuses on the dense richness and great detail of New York City at night. In an homage to Berenice Abbott’s “Night View”, Peterman perches himself on top of the empire state building capturing the same dramatic angles and kinetic compositions.   

HIGHER PICTURES  

764 Madison Avenue 

New York, NY 10021 

www.higherpictures.com