 |
Lella, Bretagne 1948 gelatin silver print. Gift of Ivor Massey
|
Organized by Amy Moorefield
Assistant Professor/Assistant Director and Curator of Collections
See the roster of artists.
Making Faces: Portraiture in Photography from the Collection tracks major themes in portraiture and celebrates the photographer’s distinctive artistic aesthetic. Although each of the twelve exhibited artists have approached their subjects distinctively, all are united in contributing a unique artistic presence to the world of photography. The artists represented in this exhibit have pushed the boundaries of traditional portraiture through diverse techniques in format and processing methods; yet share a universal goal of constructing visual icons out of common life. Since the inception of photographic portraiture in the nineteenth century, photographers have explored the realm of the human countenance in all its nuances through the camera’s lens. The invention of photography coincided with the interest in the study of physiognomy, a Victorian theory that a person’s subconscious and personality could be determined by the physical landscape of their features. Camera portraiture enabled all social and economic classes to be immortalized, an economic alternative to a painted portrait. As photography evolved and artists had more familiarity with processes and techniques, portraiture became less focused on the model and more on the photographer’s vision. Consequently, it is left up to the viewer to interpret the image and identify (or not) with the model.
Through portraiture, many of the exhibited photographers such as Robert Doisneau, Alen MacWeeney, Edouard Boubat and Manuel Alvarez Bravo have created romantic and deeply rooted patriotic testaments to their countries. Larry Clark, Bruce Davidson and Danny Lyon undergo elaborate personal journeys participating in the action to create "hyper realist" portfolios such as Tulsa, Subway, and Conversations with the Dead. Elliot Erwitt has a passion for the decisive moment tempered with a whimsical touch that has become part of his trademark style. Garry Winogrand centered the viewer’s attention through the trademark "tilting’ of his camera to focus on the moment of action. Other subjects role-play for the photographer. Thomas Daniel’s "Americana" act out private dramas for the camera using prostheses, leather, and elaborate face paint. Laura Chessin’s intimate portraits culminate after many hours spent with each subject sharing their private spaces. Eve Sonneman activates her diptych compositions with saturated color to create mood and drama in her work. Seen together, all of these portraits represent a desire to document the human condition of our image-based culture.
Camera portraiture permits us as viewers to stare at the human dynamic behind the glass and in some way be moved and reassured by the moment in time immortalized on film. These twelve photographers, through their own creative will, have managed to articulate the individual face in all its imperfections and have shaped the future of modern camera portraiture.
