Gallery Guide • spring 2016 1
Special Thanks This exhibition is the final project for the Fall 2015 Senior Capstone seminar for the Art and Architecture History major at Miami University. While most museum exhibitions take months, even years, to plan and execute, these Art History seniors curated this show in a semester. With the help of Dr. Pepper Stetler and Jason E. Shaiman, Curator of Exhibitions, students gained hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of the curatorial process. From directing the vision, creating a selection process for the collections at the Miami University Art Museum, and collaboratively writing the associated text, students worked to apply their knowledge into a completed exhibition. Special thanks to Dr. Robert Wicks, Director; Laura Stewart, Collections Manager/Registrar; Mark DeGennaro, Preparator; Scott Kissell, Photographer; Sherri Krazl, Marketing & Communications Coordinator; Morgan Murray, Graphic Design student, Cynthia Collins, Curator of Education; and to all of the Art Museum staff for their support on this project.
The Art History Capstone: (Top row, left to right) Dr. Pepper Stetler Ann Stevenson Cristina Tranter (Middle row, left to right) Kimberly Blake Kathryn Mortensen Kelsy Chesser (Bottom row, left to right) Hanna Stanhouse Maren Madigan Katrina Fausnaugh
Introduction The world as we know it is documented on our camera rolls, Facebook albums and Instagram feeds. Our culture is virtually saturated with photographic images that we consider to be documents of our world and our lives. Often, we never stop to question a photograph’s role as a document, taking the image presented to us as an inherently factual account of an event, a person, a place, a time. However, like any creative endeavor, photography is not always objective, unmediated, or even factual. Rather, these are constructed images - the subject is selected; the viewpoint chosen; the shot framed - resulting in our seeing only what the photographer chooses to show us. Through these images, a moment can be captured, an identity created, and an experience relayed. However, by nature of the photograph, an innately stationary and unchanging object, these images exist merely as fragments of that experience. The “whole picture” is never fully conveyed, instead offering just a part of a place, experience, or moment. In this exhibition, you are invited to explore how this process occurs - how the choices of the photographer and fragmentary nature of the photograph influence our perceptions of an event, how the photographic medium facilitates the construction of an identity, and how the context surrounding a photograph impacts its meaning as a document.
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Eadweard Muybridge (British, 1830-1904) Animal Locomotion: Cricket, overarm bowling, 1887 Collotype on paper Miami University Art Museum purchase through the Edward and Isabel Kezur Fund 1995.2
A scientist first, Eadweard Muybridge adapted early photography to better capture physical motion. Muybridge implemented new camera technology in order to overcome the limitations of the eye in observing minute details of an object in motion. This work was created to be included in his series, Animal Locomotion, in which he photographed a wide variety of animals in activity. In it, one observes the front and back of a man as he winds up to pitch a cricket ball. The sequence of photographs begins at the end of the throw and progresses backward through time and highlights the specific muscles used throughout the action. Among Muybridge’s more emblematic photographs, this image exemplifies his determination to document the body at each stage of motion that set a precedent for scientific and artistic minds alike. Written by Hanna Stanhouse
Berenice Abbott (American, 1898-1991) Under the El at the Battery, 1932, printed 1986 Silver gelatin print Gift of Edward and Isabel Kezur 1988.22
Fascinated by Parisian street photographer Eugene Atget, Berenice Abbott spent the early portion of her career preserving and promoting Atget’s work. Atget’s photographs offered an unadorned view of Paris in the early twentieth century. Abbott aspired to reconstruct Atget’s realist views and compose a similar approach to capturing New York. Ultimately, Abbott transformed Atget’s functional photographic documents into an artistic style. Under the El at the Battery captures street life beneath the cloud of the elevated railway in the metamorphosing city of New York, transitioning from an industrial past to a New Deal economy. It is part of the larger project, Changing New York (1935-1938), financed in part by the Works Progress Administration and the Federal Art Project. Written by Kathryn Mortensen 5
Event Among its many abilities, documentary photography can chronicle passing moments and historical events. Whereas early documentarians were forced to draw quickly or rely on their memory of the moment to recreate the image, photographers can record an instant in an instant. Is an event most effectively recorded through an image that is taken preceding it, during it, or after it? Can a photograph, or series of photographs, effectively document the whole of a happening? What challenges are faced when capturing these points in time? The photographers in this section have made decisions with these questions in mind in order to contribute to an abstract archive, images that stand as permanent testaments to occasions that have occurred. Margaret Bourke-White (American, 1904-1971) Photograph of the Maiden Flight of the U.S.S. Akron, August 8, 1931, 1931 Silver gelatin print Miami University Art Museum purchase 2006.35
Weegee (Arthur Fellig), (American, 1899-1968) Cooler, 1942 Silver gelatin print Gift of James H. and Frances R. Allen 2002.52
As legend goes, Arthur Fellig had a sixth sense that often led him to a crime scene well before the police would arrive. Actually, he would tune in his radio to await the next crime scene, ready to capture the event in its most immediate and raw state. His radio was compared to the well-known Ouija board, the popular fortune-telling game, and therefore he took the professional name of “Weegee.” Weegee was a master of capturing New York after hours, especially its most sensational crime scenes. In Cooler, he captures the “fullhouse effect” of an overcapacity jail cell. He was a professional at capturing the notoriety of his subjects and would often take advantage of that notoriety to build his own reputation. Weegee was even known to have stamped the back of his pictures with “Credit Photo by Weegee the Famous.” Written by Cristina Tranter 7
Jewell Christopher McNair (American, b. 1926) The Bombed 16th Street Baptist Church, 1963, printed 2004 Silver gelatin print Miami University Art Museum purchase 2004.10
Chris McNair is a photographer and an activist from Birmingham, Alabama, who has had a long career photographing people and places associated with the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. His photographs captured the struggle for civil rights, specifically in the African-American community in Birmingham, Alabama. McNair photographed the aftermath of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, an atrocity committed by four members of the Ku Klux Klan. Four young girls, between the ages of 11 and 14, were killed when fifteen sticks of dynamite were ignited underneath the front steps of the church. Unbeknownst to McNair at the time he took this photograph, his 11-year old daughter, Carol Denise, was one of the four girls who tragically lost her life on Sunday, September 15, 1963. Because of the media’s attention to this act of white supremacist terrorism, the event marked a turning point in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and ultimately would contribute to support for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Written by Cristina Tranter
Vito Acconci (American, b. 1940) Three Adaptation Studies, Blindfolded, Catching, 1970 Silver gelatin print Gift of James H. and Frances R. Allen 2002.48, 2002.49, 2002.50 (top to bottom)
Acconci’s work is often the culmination of a relationship between photography, performance and poetry. Photographs provide a documentation of the performance while written words provide context and background. This series highlights a struggle of the self versus an unseen force. The photographs show Acconci blindfolded as an unknown agent throws balls at him. Acconci tries to dodge, divert and catch the balls. However, he cannot see where the balls come from, nor does he know when the next one is coming. Acconci’s pose changes in each photograph as he reacts to the unseen force by trying to learn, to prepare for the future, and to defend himself. Nevertheless, it is impossible for him to know where the next assault will come from, making his efforts fruitless as he is hit with the next ball. Written by Maren Madigan 9
(CON)TEXT Context, event, story. What is a photograph’s relation to text? How much text is necessary for the viewer to understand a photograph? How can context give the viewer a better understanding of the image in front of them? These are questions we ask the viewer to think about as they look at the following section. Throughout its history, the written word has often been used to relate a photograph to a larger context. Whether external or internal to the photographic image, text participates in the learning, the knowing, and the telling of each story. Within the following section, you are invited to take a closer look at the relationship between photography and text and to consider how the pairing enhances the photograph’s status as document. Ray Metzker (American, 1931-2014) Walgreen’s, after 1958 Silver gelatin print Miami University Art Museum purchase through the Edward and Isabel Kezur Fund 1995.1
Duane Michals (American, b. 1932) I Remember Pittsburgh, 1982 Black & White photograph Miami University Art Museum purchase through the Patrick A. Spensley Memorial Fund 1983.55.i
What can text add to a documentary photograph? In the work of Duane Michals, it allows us a closer look into the meaning behind his photographs. Often, Michals reveals a close relationship between photography and memory, linking photographs of present day appearances with past emotions. In Michals’ project I Remember Pittsburgh, we are shown a glimpse of the artist’s childhood memories through the eyes of his adult self. In the photograph of his family from 1983 we are shown an old factory where his father used to work. Michals notes that his father and grandfather have passed since the time this photograph was taken (1970). He also notes that his brother’s future children have yet to be born but still bear a presence in that moment. This text’s dialogue with the photographs pieces together scenes from the past with the moments of the present. In this way, the place being photographed is monumentalized by the experiences of people who have been there. Written by Kelsy Chesser 11
Donna Ferrato (American, b. 1949) Puffy’s Tavern, 2010 Archival pigment print Gift of Mr. Christopher Campbell 2013.62
In the ten years following the attack on the World Trade Center, Donna Ferrato embarked on a project to document New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood as it healed and rebounded from that life-changing occurrence. In many of these images, Ferrato documents the everyday life of the residents of Tribeca. This particular photograph shows an interior scene of a tavern as its occupants watch a televised soccer match between the U.S. and Ghana during the 2010 World Cup. Particularly notable for its use of viewpoint, composition and reflection, this image presents a view in which the foreground and background meld together in unusual ways, creating an interesting juxtaposition of text and image through the reflected presence of the storefront. Written by Katrina Fausnaugh
Alen MacWeeney (American, born Ireland, 1939) Public House Snug, Dublin, 1966 Archival pigment print Gift of Kevin Willsey (‘85) 2014.99
Alen MacWeeney (American, born Ireland, 1939) Policeman, Man and Priest, Rathmines, Dublin, 1966 Archival pigment print Gift of Kevin Willsey (‘85) 2014.98
These three photographs are part of the book project, Under the Influence, in which Alen MacWeeney paired his photographs of Ireland with selected excerpts from the poems of W.B. Yeats (18651939). MacWeeney published the book in 2011, almost fifty years after beginning the project in 1965. MacWeeney was inspired by Yeats’ mystical, spiritual verses about their shared homeland. By pairing Alen MacWeeney (American, born Ireland, 1939) his photographs with Yeats’ Old Woman and Child, Dublin, 1965 words, MacWeeney sought Archival pigment print Gift of Kevin Willsey (‘85) to transform his images from 2014.97 objective documents to evocations of national identity and subjective memory. The photographs presented here show an atmospheric mood rather than a precise record of people or places. Written by Dr. Pepper Stetler 13
IDENTITY How do we document our identity? Taking a photo of yourself might reveal more about your identity than you think, especially when considering how each aspect of the shot is carefully considered by both you and potential viewers. The construction of the self relies on the subject’s performance, the photographer’s lens, and the viewer’s interpretation. This idea can be further complicated when thinking about how a photograph is only able to show one aspect of the subject. When looking at the photographs in this section, consider the ways in which conceptions of identity change based on the view we are given. While the photograph and the subject’s identity can often seem surprisingly incompatible, this difference ultimately challenges the notion of a “true” self. How do these photographs challenge assumptions that identity is stable and consistent? Anne Noggle (American, 1922-2005) Reminiscence: Portrait with My Sister, 1980 Silver gelatin print Miami University Art Museum 1990.26
Anne Noggle (American, 1922-2005) Face-Lift, 1975 Silver gelatin print Miami University Art Museum 1990.24
These two works are exemplary of the theme of aging that most of Anne Noggle’s work explores. In each, Noggle positions herself in a way that highlights the age present in her face in order to question the ability of wrinkles to represent life experiences. Through photographing her healing face post-surgery, Face-Lift emphasizes the inability of the individual to hold back time. Reminiscence encourages the viewer to compare and contrast the women shown and make assertions about how the passing years have changed them. These works illustrate Noggle’s quest to humanize the aging experience and the fears that come with it. Written by Hanna Stanhouse
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Throughout his photography career, Fritz Klemperer has attempted to capture the experiences of rural life in East Africa, Asia and Mexico. These photographs come from his portrait series from Kenya, one of his most well-known projects, which sought to capture the everyday lives and experiences of individuals. In Klemperer’s accounts of the creation of the photograph Youths, Kenya, the two young men in the photograph took it as an opportunity to say something about their own identities, leaving to put on their best clothes and returning to pose proudly for the camera. However, these photographs also represent a tension between objective documentation and the artistic intent of the photographer. In both images, Klemperer added sections of hand-coloring to an otherwise black and white photograph, a manipulation of the photographic medium that highlights the choice of the photographer in determining what the final image would look like. Written by Katrina Fausnaugh Fritz Klemperer (American, b. 1946) Kaimosi Girls, 1980 Black & White photograph, hand colored Miami University Art Museum purchase and gift of the Artist 1980.2
Fritz Klemperer Youths, Kenya, 1980 Black & White photograph, hand colored Gift of Sterling Cook 1986.16
Nan Goldin (American, b. 1953) Kenny Putting on Makeup, 1973 Cibachrome color print Gift of Jeffery Horrell, ‘75 and Rodney Rose 2003.7
Kenny Putting on Makeup is an iconic work from Goldin’s The Other Side, her compilation book of documentary photographs from 1970’s drag subculture. Goldin’s subjects are often her friends and family she met while living in New York City after graduating from Boston’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts. This photograph captures a moment with her friend Kenny, with whom it is rumored she had been in love. This photograph is exemplary of Goldin’s work in the LGBTQ+ scene, which addresses shifting identities and questions gender binaries. Goldin and her friends participate in a new subculture of drag, which sought to redefine gender identity and offer a space for a gay community to exist in NYC separate from mainstream America. These photographs offer a close look at both the struggles and beauty in finding oneself as “queer” amidst a changing period in American life. Written by Kelsy Chesser 17
William Pennington (American, 1874-1940) A Navajo Gentleman, ca. 1900 Sepia tone silver print Miami University Art Museum purchase 2001.6.2
William Pennington (American, 1874-1940) Sound Asleep, ca. 1900 Sepia tone silver print Miami University Art Museum purchase 2001.6.3
Complementing his business partner’s thirst for adventure and the “exotic”, William Pennington’s technical skills made him a highly regarded portrait photographer. His compositions, dominated by a rational, conservative and carefully planned approach, made his photography that of a scientist observing an alienated subject. These sad, stoic and stereotypical images of Native Americans reflect the popular belief in a “disappearing” nation that was unable to respond and engage with the societies built by Western settlers. While we do not know who commissioned the portraits, the sitters appear to be posed in controlled ways. The blank background is standard of portraiture, but also works as a way of separating the Native Americans from their home. Alternatively, including a natural setting would reduce the individual to a product of the environment. One of the great contradictions in depicting “peoples of the land,” is respecting and acknowledging cultural norms while retaining a sense of human identity that can be shown to the audience. Written by Kimberly Blake
SUGGESTED READINGS Sharon Corwin, Jessica May, and Terri Weissman. American Modern: Documentary Photography by Abbott, Evans, and Bourke-White. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011. Lorraine Daston and Peter Galison. “The Image of Objectivity” Representations 40 (1992): 81-128. Peter Hamilton and Roger Hargreaves. The Beautiful and the Damned: The Creation of Identity in Nineteenth-Century Photography. London: National Portrait Gallery, 2001. Jorge Ribalta. “Molecular Documents: Photography in the Post-Photographic Era, or How Not to be Trapped into False Dilemmas.” In The Meaning of Photography, edited by Robin Kelsey and Blake Stimson, 178-185. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. Martha Rosler. “In, around, and afterthoughts (on documentary photography).” (1981) In Decoys and Disruptions: selected writings 1975-2001, 151-206. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2004. Allan Sekula. “The Body and the Archive” October 39 (1986): 3-64. Pepper Stetler, “The Object, the Archive, and the Origins of Neue Sachlichkeit Photography,” History of Photography 35, no. 3 (2011): 281-295. Alan Trachtenberg. “Through a Glass, Darkly: Photography and Cultural Memory,” Social Research 75, no. 1 (Spring 2008): 111-132. 19
Art Museum Staff Robert S. Wicks, Ph.D. Director Jason E. Shaiman Curator of Exhibitions Cynthia Collins Curator of Education Mark DeGennaro Preparator/Operations Manager Sherri Krazl Marketing/Communications Laura Stewart Collections Manager/Registrar Debbie Caudill Program Assistant Sue Gambrell Program Coordinator Construction of the Miami University Art Museum in 1978 was made possible by private contributions to Miami University’s Goals for Enrichment capital campaign in the Mid-1970s. A major gift for the building came as a bequest from Miami alumnus Fred C. Yager, class of 1914. Walter A. Netsch, the museum’s architect, Walter I. Farmer, class of 1935, and Orpha B. Webster generously donated extensive art collections and were all instrumental in developing early support for the museum. The Art Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Gallery Hours Tue–Fri: 10 a.m.–5 p.m. • Sat: 12–5 p.m. Closed: Sun, Mon, & University Holidays 801 S. Patterson Ave. Oxford, OH 45056 • WWW.MiamiOH.edu/ArtMuseum