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exhibition (26)

Eadweard Muybridge at Tate London

Posted by Michael Pritchard on February 28, 2010 at 7:00
Eadweard Muybridge, Back Somersault c.1887, Courtesy Kingston Museum and Heritage ServiceThe pioneering British photographer Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) will be the subject of a major retrospective at Tate Britain in autumn 2010. Bringing together around 150 works, this exhibition will demonstrate how Muybridge broke new ground in the emerging art form of photography. From his iconic images of animals and humans in motion to depictions of the sublime landscapes and life of the dynamic America of the later nineteenth century, the exhibition will explore the ways in which Muybridge created and honed his remarkable images that continue to resonate powerfully with artists and photographers.

Born in Kingston upon Thames in April 1830, Muybridge studied photography in Britain and built his career in America. Perhaps best known for his extensive photographic portrayal of animals and human subjects in motion, he was also a highly successful landscape and survey photographer, documentary artist, inventor, and war correspondent. Muybridge’s revolutionary techniques produced timeless images that have profoundly influenced generations of photographers, filmmakers and artists, including Francis Bacon, Marcel Duchamp, Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, and Douglas Gordon.

This broadly chronological exhibition will focus on the period of rapid technological and cultural change from 1870 to 1904. It will include the celebrated early experimental series of motion-capture photographs such as Attitudes of Animals in Motion 1878-1882, and the later sequence Animal Locomotion 1887. It will also consider how Muybridge constructed, manipulated and presented these photographs and will feature his original zoopraxiscope, which projected his images of suspended motion to create the illusion of movement.

Muybridge’s carefully managed studio photographs contrast with his panoramic landscapes of America, in which he balanced professionalism with a truly artistic sensibility. He was fascinated by change and progress and his photographs caught both the natural beauty of this vast continent, and the rapid colonial modernisation of its towns and cities. The exhibition will include many of his series of images of the Yosemite Valley, including dramatic waterfalls from 1867 and 1872, along with views of Alaska, Guatemala, urban panoramas of San Francisco, and his 1869 survey of the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad in California, Nevada and Utah. These photographs form a unique social document of this fascinating period of history, as well as representing a profound achievement of technological innovation and artistic originality.

Muybridge travelled between Britain, America and Europe throughout his career, studying photography in Britain, and later lecturing around the world. In 1874 while living in San Francisco he shot his wife’s lover dead and had her son placed in an orphanage, but was acquitted of the crime as a ‘justifiable homicide’, a story retold in Philip Glass’s opera The Photographer. He returned to England in 1894, and died at home in Kingston in 1904.

The exhibition is curated by Philip Brookman, Chief Curator, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington and at Tate Britain by Ian Warrell, curator of 18th and 19th century British Art, Tate, and Carolyn Kerr, curator, Tate Britain, and is organised with the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington. A fully illustrated catalogue, produced by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, will be available

The exhibition will be at the Tate's Linbury Galleries, Tuesday 8 September 2009 – Sunday 16 January 2011
Admission £10 (£9, £8 concessions)
Opening hours: 10.00-17.50 (last admission 17.00)
The show is organised by the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC
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Jesse Taylor: Exhibition ‘Campden Then and Now’

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 20, 2010 at 20:26
12200889697?profile=originalFor the past year, CADHAS (Campden and District Historical & Archaeological Society) has been running an Awards for All project about Jesse Taylor, our local photographer 100 years ago, culminating in an Exhibition of his work next weekend 23/24 January. We had a ‘eureka moment’ in our research when we found a picture of the town’s Floral Parade in 1896 by Henry Taunt, well-known Oxford photographer, with another photographer in the corner of the frame, and matched it with one from our Jesse Taylor collection, proving a link between the two men. Chipping Campden, a small market town in the Cotswolds, has a long and well-documented history but now the recent past is coming to life through these photographs, from glass plates deposited with Gloucestershire Archives. The project has involved volunteers working with the Archives staff to conserve the plates and digitise the images. Local schools and groups of older people have been looking at the images and comparing life then and now. Instead of the pigs and sheep wandering down the High Street we have cars searching for parking spaces! The Exhibition ‘Campden Then and Now’ is in the Town Hall on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 January, 10 am – 4pm. On the Saturday at 3.15 pm there will be a talk by Graham Diprose, about the work of these early photographers. Graham Diprose is joint curator of the current Henry Taunt exhibition at Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock ‘…in the footsteps of Henry Taunt’, showing pictures of the River Thames in Victorian and modern times. Judith Ellis
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Exhibition: Where Three Dreams Cross: 150 Years of Photography from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 15, 2010 at 20:57
This landmark exhibition gives an inside view of how modern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been shaped through the lens of their photographers. From the days when the first Indian-run photographic studios were established in the 19th century, this exhibition tells the story of photography’s development in the subcontinent with over 400 works that have been brought together for the first time. It encompasses social realism and reportage of key political moments in the 1940s, amateur snaps from the 1960s and street photography from the 1970s. Contemporary photographs reveal the reality of everyday life, while the recent digitalisation of image making accelerates its cross-over with fashion and film. The exhibition is arranged over five themes with works selected from the last 150 years. The Portrait shows the evolution of self-representation; The Family explores close bonds and relationships through early hand-painted and contemporary portraits; The Body Politic charts political moments, movements and campaigns; The Performance focuses on the golden age of Bollywood, circus performers and artistic practices that engage with masquerade; while The Street looks at the built environment, social documentary and street photography. Over 70 photographers including Pushpamala N., Rashid Rana, Dayanita Singh, Raghubir Singh, Umrao Singh Sher-Gil, Rashid Talukder, Ayesha Vellani and Munem Wasif are presented in the show, with works drawn from important collections of historic photography, including the influential Alkazi Collection, Delhi and the Drik Archive, Dhaka. They join many previously unseen images from private family archives, galleries, individuals and works by leading contemporary artists. Tickets £8.50/£6.50 concessions / free for under 18s & Sundays 11am–1pm Book Now*: +44 (0)844 412 4309 whitechapelgallery.org/tickets * Fee £1 per ticket. Free admission for you and a friend with Whitechapel Gallery Membership. Join now: whitechapelgallery.org/join +44 (0)20 7522 7888
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V&A Exhibition: Gothic Architecture and 19th-Century Photography

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 10, 2010 at 14:30
Westminster, with The Henry VII Chapel and Clock Tower of The Houses of Parliament, Stephen Ayling, about 1869Drawing on the V&A's rich holdings of 19th-century photographs, this new display examines the relationship that developed between photography and architectural practice in the 19th century and explores how photography facilitated the re-discovery of an idealised past. The display also addresses the role played by photography in the recording of buildings before demolition and its use as a tool for preserving the national architectural heritage. The display features a range of photographs by leading British, French and Italian photographers, alongside of which is a selection of drawings, sketch books, watercolours and prints. It has been curated by Ashley Givens, Assistant Curator of Photographs and Barbara Lasic, Assistant Curator of Designs. The exhibtion is open from 7 January–16 May 2010 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 in Room128a Architecture. Admission is free.
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NMeM Bradford: Frederick Evans Exhibition in 2010

Posted by Michael Pritchard on December 27, 2009 at 18:48
After showing at the Getty in Los Angeles from 2 February-6 June 6 2010A Record of Emotion: The Photographs of Frederick H. Evans will be on view at the National Media Museum in Bradford, from 24 September 2010–20 February 2011. The exhibition explores the artist’s images of medieval cathedrals in England and France, rarely seen landscapes of the English countryside, and intimate portraits of Evans’s family and friends. Through a deep understanding of his subject and a delicate handling of light, mass, and volume, Frederick H. Evans (British, 1853–1943) created photographs of medieval cathedrals that capture the innate spirituality of each stone building. Evans began photographing cathedrals in the mid-1880s. He was able to create magnificent examples of light and shadow through the interior views of historic sites such as Ely Cathedral, York Minster, and Westminster Abbey. More than simply recording their physical features, Evans sought an emotional connection with the spaces he photographed, aiming for a “record of an emotion” rather than a piece of topography. His interiors are often dramatic renderings, paying homage to the inner sanctity of the site while also exploiting the architectonic elements. He described the cathedral photographs as studies since he approached each building in a methodical, measured way. In documenting these sites, Evans stayed for several weeks studying them from early morning to dusk, pacing around naves and cloisters and recording—first as notations in a notebook and later as photographic images on paper—the changing effects of light as it illuminated dimly lit interiors at various times of day. Choosing to work in platinum for its tonal range, Evans was a purist who did not believe in manipulating the negatives. He advocated, “Photography is photography; and in its purity and innocence is far too uniquely valuable and beautiful to be spoilt by making it imitate something else.” His expert craftsmanship extended to the presentation of the actual prints, which were carefully mounted onto different colored paper supports or featured a series of applied borders. One of the many highlights of Evans’s architectural photographs is a small selection of prints documenting Kelmscott Manor, home of William Morris, the leader of the Arts and Crafts Movement in England. These photographs, central to the Getty holdings, are arguably among Evans’s finest pieces. Although similar to the grand cathedrals in evoking a kind of reverence, the images are much more intimate and reflective. Starting with distant views of the house from the river, Evans leads the viewer across the site, into the house itself, and through the various chambers. He studied the location and considered the architectural space in a series of views that sought to capture the soul of the place, culminating in photographs of the light-filled attic. Other highlights include A Sea of Steps, one of his most recognizable and appreciated photographs of Wells Cathedral. Evans made several attempts over a number of years to successfully capture the wave-like motion of the worn, stone steps. Today this particular image is among the most renowned architectural renderings in the history of photography. Although lauded for his architectural photographs, Evans was also accomplished in the areas of portraiture, landscape, and photomicrography (photography using a microscope), and he brought to each subject the same intensity that characterizes his cathedral images. A small selection of his photomicrographs will be included in a rare display of the glass lantern slides (photographic images on glass) that Evans used for his public lectures. From 1890 to 1898, Evans ran a bookshop in London. During this time he came into contact with various literary figures, and over the years many of them sat in front of his camera. Included in the exhibition are portraits of the playwright George Bernard Shaw, who shared with Evans an enthusiasm for the pianola (automatic player piano), and the young Aubrey Beardsley, whose graphic talents Evans is credited with having discovered. In his portraits Evans attempted to evoke the sitter’s personality. Using a Dallmeyer-Bergheim lens, because it afforded a greater degree of softness in rendering facial features, he tended to isolate the sitter with little background detail or props to convey their psychological presence. Also on display in the exhibition are photographs by Evans that capture the beautiful landscapes of the English countryside. Evans began making landscapes in the early 1880s when he was seeking respite from health problems and found himself traveling often to the Lake District in the north of England. His numerous trips to local woodland areas in Surrey resulted in photographs of majestic trees that recalled the soaring columns of cathedrals. “For Evans the work was clearly an emotional enjoyment that is revealed in this exhibition of his life and work,” says Anne Lyden, associate curator of photographs and curator of the exhibition. “He attempted to capture what he called ‘a record of an emotion,’ by invoking the potent symbolism of these awe-inspiring spaces.” In Bradford Curator of Photographs Philippa Wright has been responsible for the show.
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Margaret Watkins - The Forgotten Woman

Posted by Michael Pritchard on December 9, 2009 at 5:09
For those fortunate enough to be in Glasgow before 15th January there is a chance for a rare treat - an opportunity to see the photographs of Margaret Watkins. Born in Canada in the late 19th century Watkins was successful both commercially and artistically as well as being highly regarded by her fellow photographers in New York during the Stieglitz/Steichen era. As the images on view show she was not only a fine portraitist but had a fine eye for still life compositions, many of which pre-date the more acclaimed work of Paul Strand and Edward Weston. Though she did not appear to have printed much of her later work Robert Burns has made an excellent job of printing up a number of her 1930s/40s Glasgow photos. Her personal story, too long to retell here, much of which comes to us via Joe Mulholland, her neighbour and confidante in Glasgow is the stuff of legend. As Michelin would say in their famous Green Guides "Worth The Journey"!! Donald Stewart. WatkinsPosterMk2161.psd
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