Stan Douglas
McLeod’s Books, Vancouver, 2006
Laserchrome print
Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner Gallery

New Pictures 7:  Stan Douglas, Then and Now will be on view from October 11, 2012 – February 10, 2013.  The Newman Lecture on Contemporary Photography will take place the night of the opening, October 11, 2012, 7-8 p.m., Pillsbury Auditorium.

Support for Newman Lecture is provided by the Arnold Newman Foundation.  Generous support for New Pictures is provided by the W. Duncan and Nivin MacMillan Foundation

Thursday, September 20, 2012—Sunday, March 3, 2013
Harrison Photography Gallery (365)
Free Exhibition

Photographers are avid travelers. Since the late 19th century, they have carried their cameras to unfamiliar neighborhoods and around the world to take pictures of people, places, and cultures. “Strangers in a Strange Land: Photographers’ First Impressions” features photographs that document photographers’ encounters with foreign subjects and lands. These seemingly fleeting first impressions often become lasting records of historical memory. The exhibition looks closely at how photographers translate a sense of culture and place through imagery. It also considers the power of first impressions to shape historical representations of cultures. How do the photographs presented inform our understanding of the global culture, particularly in the early 20th century, before globalism?

“Strangers in a Strange Land: Photographers’ First Impressions” will feature a range of classic masterpieces in the MIA’s collection: Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California; Philip Jones Griffiths’s Wounded Female Civilian, South Vietnam; Francis Frith’s The Pyramids of Dahshoor; selections from Diane Arbus’s A Box of Ten Photographs, 1970; and Paul Stand’s Mexico portfolio. The exhibition will also include recent acquisitions, such as Boris Mikhailov’s Luriki, and Martin Parr’s New Brighton, Merseyside.

]]> http://www2.artsmia.org/blogs/new-pictures/2012/09/11/opening-soon-at-mia-strangers-in-a-strange-land/feed/ 0 http://www2.artsmia.org/blogs/new-pictures/2012/08/27/save-the-date-october-11th-stan-douglas-opening-lecture/ http://www2.artsmia.org/blogs/new-pictures/2012/08/27/save-the-date-october-11th-stan-douglas-opening-lecture/#comments Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:50:37 +0000 Jen Dolen http://www2.artsmia.org/blogs/new-pictures/?p=3177 We are pleased to announce that New Pictures 7 and the Newman Lecture on Contemporary Photography will feature Stan Douglas, winner of this year’s International Center of Photography’s Infinity Award.  The Vancouver native works in film, still photography and installation.  His artwork has been exhibited internationally, including in three Venice Biennials and three DOCUMENTAs. Douglas’s photographs examine how images and memory shape our interpretation of history.  To create his photographs, Douglas often assumes the role of a photojournalist who travels back in time to reinterpret key events in social and political history, such as the 1975 revolution in Angola and social riots in Canada during the 1930s and 70s.  After conducting intensive research, he restages these events using actors, costumes, props, and sets. The final pictures are meticulously composed down to the slightest gestures and period styles.

At the MIA, Douglas will present six large-scale photographs examining the historical past and present.  Three of Douglas’s prints addressing moments of historic social change will be installed in the Perlman Gallery (368) for the “Then” section.  While the “Now” section will present three recent photographs of accumulated objects juxtaposed with artworks in the MIA’s permanent collection. 

New Pictures 7:  Stan Douglas, Then and Now will be on view from October 11, 2012 – February 10, 2013.   The Newman Lecture on Contemporary Photography will take place the night of the opening, October 11, 2012, 7-8 p.m., Pillsbury Auditorium.  Please save the date for a big night of activity!  Support for Newman Lecture is provided by the Arnold Newman Foundation.

Martine Franck

Col de L’homme Mort, Alpes de Haute Provence

The Ethelyn Bros Photography Purchase Fund

2000.111.1

She met Henri Cartier-Bresson at Magnum in 1966, and the two later married.  Franck was a co-founder and president of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, which she began in 2002, two years prior to Cartier-Bresson’s death.

In the meantime, here are some great New York Times images from the Olympics this summer.

If you haven’t stopped by the 2nd floor Linda & Lawrence Perlman Gallery (262) recently, Parr’s January pics of Minneapolis winter sports will be on display through Sunday, August 5th.  After that, the images will take a break in storage for a while, however, the MIA Photography & New Media department are proud to announce the acquisition of six Martin Parr photographs into our collection.

Come in and enjoy the free-flowing air-conditioning while you enjoy the display of twelve of Parr’s visual observations of our local winter activities.

Jen Dolen, Photography & New Media intern

Initially gaining notice from her pictures of economic crisis in 1930s United States, she was the only American photographer in Russia when the Germans bombed Moscow in 1941, and was given access to photograph Joseph Stalin, who she later stated was her most difficult subject because he stood like a stone.

Bourke-White followed stories around Europe, from Italy into Africa.  Not known for traveling light, the photographer carried up to 600 pounds of equipment on assignment until all her gear was lost when her ship was torpedoed en route to Africa in December of 1942.  After surviving the sinking but unable to save her equipment, she downgraded to only 250 pounds but continued to favor larger format cameras due to the negatives’ detail.

Throughout Germany she followed the Allied advance and captured shocking, iconic images at the Buchenwald concentration camp in April, 1945.  In India, Bourke-White shifted from the aftermath of war to a peaceful 1946 portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, who required her to learn how to use a spinning wheel before she was allowed to photograph him.

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts wishes a happy belated birthday to a photographer whose commitment to capturing the best images affected not only her own life and career, but continues to inspire photographers today.

Jen Dolen, Photography & New Media intern

In 1953 Bischof wrote to fellow Magnum photographer, Robert Capa, whom Bischof referred to as a father-figure, “I am sick of doing nothing and eager to leave for South America. It is the only place I am interested in – as far as possible from civilization, back to nature”.  Six months later, even less fond of the masses of highways and “assembly line” way of living, he wrote to Henri Cartier-Bresson, “I am soon going on my great trip over Central America [...] to see simple people with more heart and less [...] television sets.”

Unfortunately, all did not go well in Peru, where Bischof died in a car accident.  Despite his short life, he made masterful work, and though he photographed difficult subjects like war and famine, he continued to “seek out beautiful things.”  Filling his compositions with strong visuals, Bischof framed rich design elements around both natural studies and action shots.  His lighter scenes of children playing and people at rest are as effective as his heavier pictures of active soldiers and emaciated figures.

Werner’s eldest son, Marco, manages his father’s estate and frequently communicated with former MIA curator Ted Hartwell. After a 1996 visit from Zurich, Marco wrote of the Boundary Waters, “we spent a wonderful week exploring more of the beauty of your country. Full with memories [...].  Physically we are here now – I guess our souls need some time till they arrive.”

Marco continued collaborating with the MIA, which presented Werner Bischof Photographs 1932-1954 in 2003-04, along with a CD biography by Marco Bischof, Carl Philabaum and Gary Brandenberg, Werner Bischof: Life and Work of a Photographer 1916-1954.  The CD, which Marco initially referred to as Werner Bischof: Dream of Purity, housed an archive of 1,000+ images and included notes, sketches, interviews, and letters such as the following excerpt written by Werner from Calcutta in 1952, to his wife, Rosellina:

Of course, my dearest – there is beauty too, temple dances of dreamlike beauty in the south …     I am an observer in the abattoir of beauty.

On display at the MIA again soon, view Bischof’s gelatin silver print “In the Court of the Meiji Temple, Tokyo, Japan” from 1951.  Related post: Werner Bischof’s “dream of purity”

Jen Dolen, Photography & New Media intern

Documentary images picture a place at a moment; the best work of the genre give life to the event with a critical perspective.  Minnesota-based photographer Tom Arndt described the experience of approaching New York’s Little Italy and Chinatown 1981 Independence Day celebrations as entering a “wall of sound.”  In the dark evening rain, without icons of the national anniversary, Arndt’s images picture the balance of trouble and triumph. Are we viewing the aftermath of protests, raids or war, rather than the revelry of independence?  With dark silhouettes framed by smoke and crowds cowering from explosive shooting sparks, this is gritty freedom.

Dates  June 6 – August 5, 2012

Time  Gallery hours

• Monday to Saturday:  10am – 4:30pm
• Thursday:  10am – 8pm
• Sunday:  Noon – 5pm
• Admission is free.

Location  Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University
13th and Clybourn
Milwaukee, WI  53201
414.288.1699

Jen Dolen, Photography & New Media intern

A productive artist and humanitarian who worked in poetry, writing, composing and film-making as well as photography, Parks (1912-2006) was deeply committed to social justice and worked on diverse conceptual ideas with photos ranging from civil commentary to high fashion and celebrity portraiture.

 Opening Reception:  Thursday, June 7th, 6:00-8:30pm

Dates  June 7th – July 28th, 2012

Time  Tuesday-Saturday 12-5, or by appointment

Location  Weinstein Gallery
908 West 46th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55419
612.822.1722

Jen Dolen, Photography & New Media Intern