Showing posts with label art in Santa Fe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art in Santa Fe. Show all posts

Friday, July 15, 2022

The human condition through the lens

screen shoot of cover of Pasatiempo magazine with photo of women in yellow clothinng emerging from water in Zanzibar


Via Pasatiempo

By Brian Sandford

July 15, 2022


The 44 photos adorning the walls at the Monroe Gallery of Photography offer an unvarnished look at the human condition — tracing an emotional range from tender love to the fallout of hatred.

Many showcase the human spirit’s perseverance through challenges or trauma, while others are provocative reminders of recent history that some people would rather ignore or forget. That’s part of the point of Imagine a World Without Photojournalism, an exhibit that runs through Sept. 18 and includes a selection of art that has been shown throughout the gallery’s 20-year history.

The Monroe Gallery’s exhibit represents about a century of photojournalism. Gallery co-owners and spouses Sid and Michelle Monroe say the exhibit’s photographs were selected based on “individual universal relevance,” with each representing an important subject of social and political history.

In a way, records of historical events were created by painters for hundreds of years, if perhaps with less fidelity to the truth. As a result, accounts of historical events could come years — even centuries — later. The invention of photography in 1826 changed that, opening the door to real-time documentation of events and the work of photographers such as Mathew Brady, who defined our notion of the in-between moments of the Civil War.


A ma backs away as St. Louis County police officers approach him with guns drawn and eventually arrest him in Ferguson, Missouri, on Aug. 11, 2014;

Whitney Curtis, Rashaad Davis, 23, backs away as St. Louis County police officers approach him with guns drawn and eventually arrest him in Ferguson, Missouri, on Aug. 11, 2014; courtesy of Monroe Gallery of Photography


Modern photojournalism, though, began in the mid-1920s with the invention of the Leica, a portable camera using film able to capture movement.

Some photojournalists have gained fame for their work, such as Robert Capa, who documented war and whose photo of chaos on Omaha Beach in France on D-Day is part of the Monroe exhibit. Others are lesser known, despite producing iconic images, such as Eddie Adams. His name might not ring a bell, but his 1968 photo of the street execution of a Viet Cong prisoner in Saigon is an iconic symbol of the brutality of war.

Some of those photos might have been viewed differently had they been taken recently, Sid says.

Human condition on display at photography exhibit

An Afghan Woman in blue burqa holds fer Diploma, Kabul, Afghanistan, 1998

Nina Berman, Afghan Woman with Diploma, Kabul, Afghanistan, 1998; courtesy of Monroe Gallery of Photography

“One of the challenges journalists are facing is just the outright denial of reality,” he says, adding that some visitors get defensive when confronted with uncomfortable truths.

At least one of the images in the exhibit has created a stir elsewhere: A 2019 photo by Grant Baldwin was removed from a public museum in North Carolina in June. It depicts two men kissing at a Pride parade in Charlotte, North Carolina, while people in the background cheer and take pictures.

County Manager Kim Eagle ordered that the photo be removed from the Gaston County Museum, a move backed by at least two county commissioners there.

Men kissing after Mariage proposal at Pride Parade, Aug. 18, 2019

Grant Baldwin, Charlotte, North Carolina, Pride Parade, Aug. 18, 2019; courtesy of Monroe Gallery of Photography


While some images are divisive, Sid says, others are noteworthy for their unifying qualities. He cited as an example the iconic World War II shot of six Marines raising a flag at Iwo Jima, which is included in the Monroe Gallery’s exhibit. Joe Rosenthal captured the image on the Japanese island in 1945.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, “a photographer happened to capture these firefighters who took a flag off a boat that was docked near the towers, and they were putting it up on a column that had survived,” he says. “And then it was immediately seized upon, like, ‘Oh, this is a rally moment for America after 9/11.’ Well, we need [calls to rally]. Because most of these situations require sacrifice. Ukraine requires sacrifice. World War II required sacrifice. And so in order to galvanize the effort, you need that imagery to bring you all together.”

Selecting images for the exhibit wasn’t an easy task.

“You could do an entire museum, like, three floors and 200 pictures, and still not really tell the full story” of photojournalism, Michelle says.

Human condition on display at photography exhibit

A woman hitting a neo-Nazi with her handbag (Vaxjo, Sweden, 1985)


Hans Runesson, A woman hitting a neo-Nazi with her handbag (Vaxjo, Sweden, 1985); courtesy of Monroe Gallery of Photography


Part of that story is simply the power of an image viewed on a white wall, not accompanied by distractions on a computer screen.

“I often ask people in the gallery, ‘I wonder who’s benefiting from us thinking that we can’t be friends even though we think differently?’” she says. “As I like to say to my kids, don’t be an unpaid intern for someone. Because that’s what we’re doing for those people that are benefiting from separating us. We haven’t even examined how we really feel.”

The Monroes don’t aim to influence how others feel, they say.

“There’s never an agenda to the exhibit in terms of a viewpoint,” Sid says. “This is what happened. This is history.” 

Officer Eugene Goodman: facing a crowd, The Storming of The Capitol (Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2021)

Ashley Gilbertson, Officer Eugene Goodman: The Storming of The Capitol (Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2021); courtesy of Monroe Gallery of Photography

Details

▼ Imagine a World Without Photojournalism

▼ Through Sept. 18

▼ Monroe Gallery of Photography, 112 Don Gaspar Ave.

▼ 505-992-0800, monroegallery.com

▼ Also, “Threats to Photojournalism,” a panel program with photographers Nina Berman and David Butow, 5:30 p.m. July 22, at the gallery or via Zoom. RSVP required

 

Thursday, May 5, 2022

LIFE Magazine Show Opens At Monroe Gallery Of Photography


screen shot of graphis with article title over phot of children watching a puppet show by Alfred Eisenstaedt


Written By: Jill Golden

Like thousands of New Yorkers, Sid and Michelle Monroe left the city after the events of September 11 to find a new home. They chose the art and cultural capital of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they opened the Monroe Gallery of Photography in April 2002. Now, twenty years later, they’re celebrating their gallery’s anniversary by revisiting the topic of their first show: the photographers of LIFE Magazine.

Opening on May 6, 2022, the show celebrates what the Monroes call LIFE’s “stunning affirmation of the humanist notion that the camera’s proper function is to persuade and inform.” Photographs from essays by LIFE icons such as Margaret Bourke-White, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Carl Mydans, and Andreas Feininger will be on display. LIFE photographer Bob Gomel, now 88, will also be in attendance at the opening reception from 5-7pm on Friday, May 6.

LIFE.com recently caught up with the gallerists Sid and Michelle Monroe over email to learn more about their show and their thoughts on LIFE, and, well, life in Santa Fe.

How did you become gallerists? Why did you choose to focus on photojournalism?

We both entered the museum field after college, Michelle with the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Sid with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Michelle was also a working artist and Sid was the director of a SoHo gallery specializing in fine art editions, where the gallery owner was exploring an exhibition with Alfred Eisenstaedt in collaboration with the LIFE Picture Collection. In 1985, we sat down with Alfred Eisenstaedt to discuss the exhibition and, then in our 20s, were were awed and engaged with his stories of an extraordinary life behind the camera.

We understood that we were in the presence of something bigger than we had ever encountered before. The work of Alfred Eisenstaedt is our collective history—we didn’t live this but this is what formed the world we were born into. In the eighties, photography was only beginning to gain a foothold in the fine art market, and most galleries were concentrating on the early “masters” of fine art photography. Eisenstaedt, and in general the field of photojournalism, had not been exhibited in a gallery setting. We believed immediately that a gallery which combined the realms of art, history, and reportage would be unique, and that set us on our course.


black and white portrait of Albert Einstein in  his office, 1949
Albert Einstein, Princeton, NY, 1949
Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock


Why a LIFE exhibition? Why now?

We had our beginning in New York, and over the course of the 1990s had the extraordinary opportunity to meet, get to know, and work with many of the legendary photographers of LIFE magazine, all in their retirement years. Through countless conversations, we learned how they saw the world and recorded it for the magazine, and more importantly, for history. Their work, and work approach, helped us gain insight into how to view their photographs, decades after they made them. Ever since, we have have worked conscientiously over the past 20 years to establish Monroe Gallery of Photography at the intersection between photojournalism and fine art, showcasing works embedded in our collective consciousness that shape our shared history. The Gallery represents several of the most significant photojournalists up to the present day, but the work of the LIFE photographers has been our foundation

.
black and withe photo of devasted mother and child in Hiroshima, Japan, December 1945.
Mother and child in Hiroshima, Japan, December 1945.
Alfred Eisenstaedt; The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

What do you wish collectors knew about LIFE? The general public?

The work of the photographers of LIFE magazine came to define the medium of photojournalism, and their photographs recorded history and informed us all for most of the twentieth century. It was long one of the most popular and widely imitated of American magazines, selling millions of copies a week. From its start, LIFE emphasized photography, with gripping, superbly chosen news photographs, amplified by photo features and photo essays on an international range of topics. Its photographers were the elite of their craft and enjoyed worldwide esteem. Published weekly from 1936 to 1972, the work of the photographers of LIFE magazine came to define the medium of photojournalism.


black and white photo of "Black Power" salute at the 1968 Mexico Olymipics
American sprinters Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos (right), after winning gold and bronze Olympic medals in the 200 meters, respectively, raised their fists in a Black Power salute, Mexico, 1968. Australian silver medalist Peter Norman is at left.
John Dominis/Life Pictures/Shutterstock


Do you have a favorite piece in the show?

Considering we curated the exhibit from potentially thousands of images, the exhibit itself represents our favorites—with enough left over we could easily do a “part two”!

Who are some of your favorite LIFE photographers? Are there some that may have been overlooked?

That’s a difficult question, as each LIFE photographer had their own individual and particular personality and style. We consider ourselves extraordinarily privileged to have been able to have known, and call friends, so many of these great photographers. To name only a few, Eisenstaedt was by many measures the “Dean” of the LIFE photographers and he taught us how to “see”; Carl Mydans left a deep impression on us with his humility and intense humanistic dedication; Bill Eppridge was deeply committed to documenting historic and deeply sensitive subjects; and Bob Gomel‘s versatility and ingenuity impresses us to this day.
 
black and white photo of the Beatles lounging in pool chairs in Miami, 1964
John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul Mccartney and Ringo Starr, February 1964.
© Bob Gomel / Courtesy of Bob Gomel

And for people who plan to visit the LIFE show in Santa Fe, are there other favorite art spots in the area that you recommend?

Santa Fe is a gem of an art-destination city. There are over 200 galleries showing every possible form of art from ancient Native American art and pottery to cutting edge contemporary art. [We recommend] SITE Santa Fe, a contemporary art space; Institute of American Indian Arts; Museum Hill; Georgia O’Keeffe Museum; and Meow Wolf, an ‘immersive art installation where visitors enter and discover that nothing is as it seems…

Do you have advice for young photojournalists who might want to display their works in a gallery?

Foremost, understand and dedicate yourself to the profession and its specific ethical requirements. Respect its role as the fourth estate and its check on power. Do the work. The role of photojournalists has perhaps never been as vital and important as it is today.

black and white photo of Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi reading next to a spinning wheel at home in India, 1946
Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi reading next to a spinning wheel at home. (Photo by Margaret Bourke-White/The LIFE Picture Collection © DotDash Meredith)

The LIFE Photographers exhibit will be on display at Monroe Gallery from May 6 through June 26, 2022. For hours and location, please consult the gallery’s website.

Jill Golden is the director of the LIFE Picture Collection, an archive of more than 10 million photographs created by—and collected by—LIFE Magazine.








Sunday, December 20, 2015

Nationally recognized photographer Stephen Wilkes has turned his lens to our national parks, commemorating their 100th anniversary


‘Herculean’ process produces ‘Day to Night’ images of national parks




Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2015
Stephen Wilkes: Grand Canyon National Park, Day To Night, 2015

Via The Albuquerqe Journal
By Kathaleen Roberts / Journal Staff Writer
Sunday, December 20th, 2015

Invisible layers of time move Old Faithful from sunrise to sunset, ringed by a walkway of people rendered microscopic by its grandeur.

Nationally recognized photographer Stephen Wilkes has turned his lens to our national parks, commemorating their 100th anniversary in four-page gateway covers in both the January 2016 national and international issues of National Geographic. Santa Fe’s Monroe Gallery of Photography is showcasing the works beginning Saturday through Jan. 10, 2016.

Wilkes focused his discerning eye on Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, as well as the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and Tanzania’s Serengeti.

What may appear to be time-lapse photography at first glance actually isn’t, Wilkes maintained.

Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Day to Night, 2015
Stephen Wilkes: Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Day to Night, 2015



(Slide Show Link)

Working from a fixed camera angle, he captures the fleeting play of shadow and light as the sun shifts from dawn to dark. A single print may coalesce from 1,500 to 2,300 images. He uses a large format digital camera.

“I photograph from a single perspective, usually elevated, anywhere from 12 to 30 hours without moving my camera,” Wilkes said in a telephone interview from his Connecticut home.

“It’s quite Herculean. I’m actually studying a place for 30 hours.”

Launched in 2009, the parks project is an offshoot of a similar body of work on cities. He edits and blends the images into seamless works of art in post-production, a process that takes about a month.

“I look for very iconic places where everybody goes, ‘I’ve been there,'” he explained. “These places are part of our collective memory. When I do that, some kind of magic happens. Time becomes compressed.”


Yosemite, Tunnel View, Day To Night 2014
Stephen Wilkes: Yosemite, Tunnel View, Day To Night 2014

At Yellowstone, he photographed Old Faithful from the old crow’s nest atop the inn of the same name, capturing both the sun and the moon peaking above the foothills.

“It’s the most active place on the planet geologically,” Wilkes said. “It goes off every 90 minutes. When you look at that picture, you realize the enormity of just how big it is.”

Long a fan of the Hudson River School painter Albert Bierstadt, famous for his highly romanticized views of the West, Wilkes thought he could never capture the artist’s sweeping aesthetic.

“He painted it from the opposite view,” Wilkes said. “It was if I was channeling him at that moment. Yosemite is as close to being a religious experience as a landscape. When you look at the people in that photograph you realize how insignificant we are as a species.”

In Washington, he spent his preparation time following the cherry blossom handlers checking the petals for signs of peak bloom. Wilkes photographed them between the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial using an 80-foot crane.


Cherry Blossoms, National Mall and Memorial Parks, Day to Night, Washington D.C., 2015
Stephen Wilkes
Cherry Blossoms, National Mall and Memorial Parks, Day to Night, Washington D.C., 2015

The Serengeti offered a breakthrough, both aesthetically and philosophically. Wilkes arrived during the peak migration of the wildlife, but the animals had stopped due to a five-week drought. He began studying a watering hole and waited in hope. He had no idea if any creatures would appear.

“We started at 2 a.m. with an 18-foot platform with a crocodile blind,” he said. “We essentially became invisible.”

He witnessed something miraculous. The creatures arrived slowly, carefully taking turns without fighting over the precious resource.

“All these competitive species shared water,” Wilkes said. “It sort of speaks to you. They say the single resource we’ll go to war over is water. We have to hear what the animals know already.”

Serengeti, Tanzania, Day to Night, 2015
Stephen Wilkes: Serengeti, Tanzania, Day to Night, 2015

Wilkes came to New Mexico last fall to check out the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. He plans to return and shoot the most photographed event in the world next year.

-- Stephen Wilkes Day To Night photographs will be exhibited by Monroe Gallery at the photola fair, January 21 - 24, 2016.

See the National Geographic article on-line here.