The Perfect Medium at the Met
From what I've read, the Met's current photo show, The Perfect Medium, is an unexpected hit. My wife and I were able to drop in to see this while making a trip uptown to visit the Neue Galerie just up the street. My initial reaction upon hearing of this show's premise was what a wasted opportunity. There can be only so many shows in the Met's photo space each year and it seemed that to focus on such an odd-ball, niche topic was using up time that could be better spent on something more significant. Nevertheless, the show highlights some critical issues facing photography today, particularly digital manipulation and the use of photography as incontrovertible evidence.
The photographs are arranged by subject - spirits, mediums, supernatural auras, "ectoplasm", etc. Each subject raises a range of different issues. The spirit photography created mainly through double exposures caused a number of fraud trials - some won, some lost, that attempted to ascertain the true source of the ghostly images captured on the light sensitive papers. As a technical and scientific process, photography was - early on - seen to have an aura of objectivity but also mystery. Could the camera see things the eye could not?
The section on ectoplasm presses this further. These photographs purport to capture emanations of strange materials sprouting from various orifices. Any artistry in these photos is purely coincidental. They are attempts to make a scientific record of the occurrence, or to fake a convincingly scientific approach, though frequently wrapped up in blatantly sexual contexts.
Not that this information does anyone any good at this point, except perhaps the retired and independently wealthy, but there will be a gallery talk this morning at 11, conducted by senior research associate Mia Fineman. This talk will be repeated in 2 weeks on Dec. 13th.
Through Dec 31 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 5th Ave
212-535-7710
$15 for adults, recommended (see, MoMA's rate increase is having an effect.)
