September 2005 Archives
I should have mentioned this last week in conncetion with his lecture at ICP, but Mitch Epstein is also currently showing at Brent Sikkema Gallery. Can't tell from the Web site info, but it appears the selection of work is a mixture of images from "Recreation" and "Family Business".
Through Oct 22 at Brent Sikkema
530 W 22nd St
(212) 929-2262
Sorry for the short notice; this month's run away from me. Mitch Epstein willl be spekaing at ICP this evening (9/28). His talk is entitled "Two Projects" and will be moderated by ICP's Deputy Director of Education, Pillip Block.
7-9pm at School of International Center of Photography
$15 admission (unless you've subscribed to the whole lecture series)
1114 6th Ave at 43rd St
(212) 857-0001
Sawdust, 2003 by Chris Jordan
I do not post many negative reviews. To be shown in a gallery is a difficult achievement and who am I to belittle the enormous effort and ego-swallowing required to do so? I try to keep in mind that each artist reviewed here is a flesh and blood person, not an abstract target of pseudo-informed commentary. Yet, having said that, there is something about the notoriety of Chris Jordan's work that cries out for backlash.
The most obvious thing about Jordan's photography is the jarring similarity in subject matter and treatment to those of Edward Burtynsky. I'm not the first to point it out; it comes up in almost every online discussion of Jordan's work (but not every offline discussion). Yes, he acknowledges Burtynsky's influence, as well as the influence of Andreas Gursky and Richard Misrach, but almost as a point of defense rather than explanation. While some accuse Jordan of an homage too close to imitation, there are significant differences in the two photographers' approach to the same material and Jordan suffers by comparison.
Considering Jordan's current, and first solo, show at Yossi Milo, I was struck by two things. Jordan's explicit goal is to comment on modern consumer society and our significant waste problem. (Burtynsky has had a similar agenda, hidden or understated for many years and only recently surfaced as intentionally directed, by his dealer or publicist, I suspect. ) Much of the "awe" created by his large scale photographs comes from a manicured molding of the subject matter - cigarettes combed into a pattern of visual white noise or cell phones formed into stylish swirling patterns. This intervention undercuts Jordan's message by making the scene artificial and thus non-documentary and suspect as propaganda. Alternately, Burtynsky's work downplays any sense of artistic intrusion on the "manufactured landscapes" he records, making their tragic meaning hard hitting and true. Second, the lighting Jordan uses is often so similar to commercial catalog lighting that it’s hard to say whether the photo isn't a manufacturer's product shot rather than a pile of discarded industrial waste. Of course, one could make the argument that that is all part of the point, but in this case I’m not inclined to be that generous.
Still, it's early in Jordan's career. His images of sawdust piles are interesting, unfortunately because they cleave more to Burtynsky or Misrach's approach than anything unique. Perhaps he will use some of the freedom of his new found success to expand his artistic horizons, though there is the always the temptation to play to the crowd. It will be interesting to see what path he treads.
Through Oct. 15 at Yossi Milo Gallery
25 W 25th St
(212) 414-0370
Between a business trip, vacation and a server problem that prevented me from making posts, I've fallen a bit behind with Gallery Hopper. I plan to correct that in the coming week with posts about several Chelsea shows, the Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell University, the George Eastman House, and a number of coming events here in NYC. Plus, info on the Gallery Hopper newsletter coming soon.
Last year’s photography shows prominently featured a number of pornography-related projects, most of which were facile, faux intellectual commentary on our skin-soaked culture. Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s latest show consists of a series of near-life sized strippers caught wrapped (and rapt) around their golden poles. Like his earlier street work, the subjects are isolated with flash lighting, frozen in mid swirl as they perform for the viewer. The backgrounds are blown out to black by the flash bulbs and it is difficult to tell if there are any patrons in attendance. They dance only for us and Philip-Lorca.
Whatever sexuality or sensuousness one would expect from pole dancers is completely absent. Instead, the women are hung like pieces of meat for inspection; nearly all but a few are caught upside down. Their makeup is garish and theatrical. Their muscles are taut and toned. Their faces show worry lines. Their bellies are marked by childbirth. Some are covered in tattoos. The overall effect is one of grotesquerie.
What to make of this? Is there an anti-objectification theme? Perhaps, though it also occurs to me that porn is hot in the art world and this is just another exercise in exploitation. More on Modern Kicks.
Through Oct. 8th at Pace/Wildenstein
534 W.25th St.
(212) 929-7000
Today's the first major trip into town to see new stuff now that summer's over. Aim to have reviews up later this week. Here's the list of what's on tap:
Frederick Sommer
Pace/MacGill
32 East 57th Street, 9th floor
Philp Jones Griffiths
Denise Bibro Fine Art
529 W 20th St
Philp-Lorca diCorcia
PaceWildenstein
534 W. 25th St.
Chris Jordan
Yossi Milo
525 West 25th Street
Tal Shochat
Andrea Meislin
526 W 26th St., Suite 214
On View : photo'ing the museum
Yancey Richardson
535 West 22nd Street
Grace was said before the barbeque was served at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fair by Russell Lee
This morning's Times has an altogether too short article on a new Library of Congress exhibit of post-Depression era color photography. The exhibit (details seems to be missing from the LoC Web site) includes 80 photographs from the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information so subjects are confined to industry and rural life, with many bombastic captions that strain modern credulity. The LoC archive site contains many more photos than are on display in the exhibit and most are downloadable as high resolution files. Check out a few favorites by Alfred T. Palmer, Arthur Siegel, and Russell Lee (also above).
Through Nov. 26 at Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress
10 First Street SE, Washington, D.C.
(202) 707-8000
The digital revolution is implicitly democratic, levelling the playing field and blurring the line between amateur and professional. The cheapest camera on the market advises, questions, scolds, adjusts, corrects. The little electronic genie within tells us when we can do what we want, and when we can't. It makes a mockery of the expert. ("Shoot, don't think," is the clever, and apt, Sony slogan.)
From a review of reGeneration. I referenced that Sony slogan some time ago, but photography's democratizing effect took hold long before the digital revolution arrived. Digital only makes it more so. Forward Retreat posts a classic Sontag quote on this topic today in regard to the ongoing catasrophe in New Orleans.
UPDATE: More info on reGeneration from the Musée de l'Elysée exhibition in Lausanne, Switz., plus Photo Opera, a site about Swiss photography. Thanks, Andrew.
