The Saint Louis Art Museum presents An Orchestrated Vision. The Theater of Contemporary Photography, an exhibition on view FEBRUARY 19–MAY 13, 2012.
Andrew Moore, American, born 1957; Palace Theater, Gary, Indiana, 2008; chromogenic print; 40 x 50 inches; Collection of Robert Verdi © Andrew Moore, Courtesy of the Artist andYancey Richardson Gallery, New York
In 43 works from an international group of 36 artists, The Theater of Contemporary Photography encompasses a broad scope of perspectives and styles with an emphasis on the artists’ complex scene setting and directing from behind the camera rather than on capturing or mirroring the world in front of it. The artists’ work purposefully blurs the lines between fact and fiction, calling the viewer to closely inspect the sizeable images.
“At this scale, photographers choose either to put us very close to their subjects-as if we were in the same space—or to communicate a broader sense of expansiveness of the world around us,” said exhibition curator Eric Lutz, associate curator of prints, drawings and photographs.
Though the medium of photography has seen vast technological changes over the last twenty years, the photographers represented here have largely chosen to forgo manipulation of images after photographing and instead physically manipulate their subjects before capturing them with a camera.
“Most of these photographers are foregoing new technology for old–using large format film cameras for their ability to record a wealth of rich detail, and engaging in meticulous prop-building to create fantasy and illusion,” noted Mr. Lutz.
The exhibition is presented in four thematic sections: “Portraiture and Performance,” “Constructed Space, ” “The Public Stage” and “The Elusive Narrative.”
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