Week 006: one one and a half two & three

ONE*
Heresies A retrospective by Pedro Meyer
October 10, 2008 - November 15, 2008
Australian Centre for Photography




"All photographs - digitally altered or not - are both truths and fictions." Pedro Meyer

"Pedro Meyer's photographs have consistently questioned the borders between truth, fiction and reality. His famous assertion that every photograph, whether digitally manipulated or not, is both a truth and a fiction, saw him cast as a 'heretic' in more orthodox photographic circles."

ONE & 1/2*
Heresies: a retrospective by Pedro Meyer
October 10, 2008 - January 25, 2009
George Eastman House


"Pedro Meyer is a Mexican photographer who is recognized widely for his powerful images and his pioneering work in digital imaging. His photographs often question the limits of truth, fiction, and reality. He once stated that every photograph contains both truth and fiction whether it has been digitally manipulated or not. As his involvement at that time was mainly in the world of documentary photography, he was called a “Heretic” for his unique viewpoint. This story led to the title Heresies for his upcoming book and exhibition series. Meyer’s work has since evolved from the 'direct images' of his documentary work, and he now mixes elements from different photographs 'to arrive to a higher or different truth.'”

*&*I like the idea of documentary photography being a combination of truth and fiction. It's also interesting to me that Meyer believes all photographs to be "both truths and fictions."

TWO**
Revisiting America
October 15, 2008 - November 15, 2008
Bond Street Gallery


"This exhibition explores the shift in American culture following the Second World War, and how that shift has influenced American values today."

"Timothy Briner, Justin James Reed, Michael Vahrenwald and Angie Smith each address the dichotomy inherent in economic progress. Briner intimately photographs the people and spaces in various towns named Boonville across the country. His pictures capture the remnants of small-town America despite the rapid development of strip malls and suburban hegemony. Reed examines how homogeneity in corporate development has created an unfamiliar and unnatural American landscape. Seeing with a subtler eye, Vahrenwald photographs the empty spaces between agriculture and commercial architecture. He uses ambient light from the parking lots that parallel these spaces to create a sense of leftover, discarded landscape. Similarly, Smith photographs newly developed residential communities. Her images offer a less bleak view of development, depicting how people inhabit these once isolated environments."

"Jon Feinstein and Brian Ulrich use consumerism to draw conclusions about American behavior. Feinstein’s simultaneously alluring and repulsive imagery begs the viewer to reconsider fast food consumption, while Ulrich’s portraits document the tedious consumer experience, providing a window onto the perfunctory ritual of "big box" shopping."

"Finally, Matthew Gamber creates photograms of iconic American television shows such as Leave it to Beaver, Hogan’s Hero and I Love Lucy. Using the television as a light source, these photograms deal with advent of technology and ideologies of the day."

**I think this exhibition is interesting, but honestly, I just love the photograph. What I really like is that this kid looks completely bored out of his mind or as if shopping has depressed him. Overall, I'm also interested in photographic documentation of the consumer experience.

THREE***
Class Pictures: Photographs by Dawoud Bey
September 26, 2008 - November 23, 2008
Indianapolis Museum of Art


"Class Pictures: Photographs by Dawoud Bey includes 40 photographic portraits of high school students paired with their own written words. For the exhibition, Bey photographed young people from all parts of the economic, racial and ethnic spectrum in both public and private high schools in Detroit; Lawrence and Andover, Massachusetts; Orlando; San Francisco; and New York City. The statements displayed alongside the portraits were written by the students and edited by Bey. Many of the statements are touching, funny or harrowing, deepening our appreciation for young adults facing the challenges of the 21st century."

"It is my hope in making these photographs to create a compelling and significant contemporary portrait of American Youth in its various social and human dimensions. I believe that such a group of photographs - with the attendant texts - will constitute a significant record and examination of our time." Dawoud Bey

***I find the Class Pictures images compelling and I also like what Bey says about his own work. Presently, I'm making work that will, hopefully, record and examine our time.