MoCP's Crime Unseen

                On a daily basis, we view crime throughout the media, often times reading about occurrences in the newspaper or hearing about it on television. Once seen, these events are usually forgotten about. In “Crime Unseen,” powerful imagery shows the audience an extremely accurate and up-close view of crimes committed years ago. Angela Strassheim’s work depicts the old aftermath of homicides left in private residences in California. By spraying a chemical to expose blood on the walls of living rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms, she exposes the history of the events and of people trying to cover up these traumatic struggles. Strassheim isn’t looking to make a difference but is bringing significant events to light through beautifully printed photographs. This raises an ethical question: is it okay to make these scenes so striking? The imagery of violence is much more effective and powerful than that of a description.

                Christian Patterson’s documentation of the Starkweather/Fugate crime is an intriguing and somewhat fictitious account of the infamous duo’s murders. Patterson photographed the route that the couple took on their killing spree, allowing viewers to get a first person perspective of the story. Through pictures and with real artifacts, he shows pieces of evidence left behind by Starkweather and Fugate, such as a bullet fired by their gun and Fugate’s beloved stuffed poodle. His display is nostalgic, as much of the documentary is from his perspective. Though Patterson is quite literal and investigative, he celebrates the mythology of the story (as America has through dramatized accounts) with metaphorical images and artifacts. Compared to other pieces in the exhibit, this series is a narrative, based on a story rather than solely on crime scenes.

                Upstairs, Corinne May Botz’s pictures of doll-like crime replications serve as a dark, cinematic view of real-life murders. The viewer is removed from the crime due to the scale and even playful quality the images have. On the contrary, Krista Wortendyke’s images of homicide locations, organized by the month they occurred, are much more straightforward and direct. This display is effective because of the quantity of images posted in a database-like form. No matter, each of the exhibit’s photographers provides a unique account of crimes read about in past years. Exaggerated or not, the photographs have shock value, and they leave viewers curious about these often forgotten crimes.

Timothy O'Sullivan: "The King Survey"

             Timothy O’Sullivan, one of the most influential photographers of the nineteenth century, documented exploration of the west with attention to both geological and human subjects. “The King Survey” consists of a multitude of his rare images and other studies from this exploration after the Civil War. Conceived for scientific, political and financial reasons, the survey’s purpose was to prime the terrain for settlement while discovering new life on the land. Throughout the exhibit, geological studies, landscapes, miners and mining operations, and settlements can be viewed, evidence that specialists from various disciplines worked together in this project.

Timothy O’Sullivan’s images portray important information, but he also makes his own presence in the west evident. He emphasizes the difficulties of working on the terrain as a photographer, while showing what others might have to endure in these conditions, like miners or future farmers. The photos serve as documents, as O’Sullivan used depth and scale to represent what a map could not. He was ahead of his time, using the enlarging process (even though it was rare during the era) and photographing with the clarity of a proto-modernist. While he used such systems as people to show the scale of the landscape, these inclusions were also aesthetically pleasing; many of these stereographs were used by O’Sullivan personally when he tried to sell them. Though the photos coexisted with maps and text, they are a wealth of information on their own.

Before viewing “The King Survey,” our discussion with an Art Institute conservator, Doug Severson, was an informative behind-the-scenes look at the processes used to maintain aging photographs. Those that he showed us were impressive, including palladium prints of Georgia O’Keefe, work by Antel Adams, and a rare Frederick Douglas daguerreotype. Conservators are responsible for a wide range of prints, from daguerreotypes to digital. He relayed that the goal is to preserve the photograph in whatever condition it is in, rather than intervene and change it. These conversations with the staff at various museums have shown me that there are so many processes that have to be gone through in order to finally have a collective exhibit. I’m much more aware of the time and effort that goes into even just one show.

The Pritzker Military Library

                The Pritzker Military Library, the only like it in the U.S., contains an extensive collection of military related reading material, historical artifacts, and has housed several war-related exhibitions. Memories of World War II: Photographs from the Archives of the Associated Press is an impressive display of WWII photographs from the war and home front. As a traveling exhibit, the library contains 108 of the 120 photographs, all of which are black and white. Though some of the photos weren’t printed to be perfect quality, they are meant to serve as documentation of important historical events.

                Viewers move through the exhibit based on the layout of the library and wherever the pictures were able to be hung. The images are in no particular order, but they shouldn’t be, as they are individually significant. Some are familiar American images, like Sailor and Nurse Kiss Times Square and Mt. Suribachi Flag Raising. Numerous others portray more horrific, extremely candid events, like Warsaw Jews Rounded Up at Gunpoint and various warfare images from Pearl Harbor and D-Day. This fascinating collection depicts rare close-ups of leaders, casualties, and soldiers. Some of the photographers risked their lives to capture these pieces of history. This is clearly reflected in the images on the battlegrounds, in military aircraft, and among the chaos that ensued after major events. Photographers as dedicated to their craft as wartime photojournalists are important in enlightening people about what happened in the past. Without their graphic images and their courage, we wouldn’t be able to get a true glimpse of the effects the war had on America and the rest of the world.

                The library’s permanent exhibits include a display of medals, badges, books, and weapons arranged by different branches of the military, as well as various Medals of Honor. The Medal of Honor exhibit is quite moving, as the stories of their noble recipients are told through both video and writing. The library’s exhibits are all informative and educational, but they also honor the courageous men and women that partook in the war effort.

Barthes's "The Photographic Message" & The Bank Collection

                It is nearly impossible not to notice the images we are surrounded by every day. In today’s society, we are informed by various types of media. Newspaper images, advertisements, the nightly news, and especially online images relay different messages to viewers. Barthes states that the photographic message is a result of three components. The first, the source of emission, are the people responsible for creating and editing the image, such as a photographer for the Chicago Tribune, the team creating an ad campaign, or the graphic designer adding text and effects to the image. The second component, the channel of transmission, is the physical medium through which the image is displayed. This includes the image’s surrounding elements. In a newspaper article, the title and text on the rest of the page, as well as the location of the image, have an influence on its importance and meaning. In a newspaper, one might search for the article about the image on the front page. This differs from the advertisements placed throughout a magazine; the viewer is forced to look at the ads while reading through. The third component, the point of reception, is the public viewing these ads, watching the news, surfing the web, and reading the newspaper. Depending on their age and interests, some might disregard the image while others are influenced to respond to it.

                Barthes goes on to explain the important relationship between an image and its surrounding elements. A press photograph is encompassed by a title, caption, or article. Though the image and text are separate elements, the photograph often further explains the text or vice versa. In the Field Museum’s exhibit about September 11^th, many of the labels under the photojournalistic images stated the date, subject, and exact time the image was taken. Even though the images were already quite representative of the day, the text further emphasized the reality of the disaster. In the press, shock value from images such as these is increased by urgent titles and informative text. Barthes relays that the article encompassing the image doesn’t analyze the image in this type of context; thus, the viewer can make their own assumptions based on the image and text.

                Our trip to view the Bank Collection was impressive and extremely informative. Upon walking into the bank, our class was deceived by the small number of landscape photographs in the teller area, to be seen at a distance. Soon enough, we were brought to a vast and incredible collection upstairs. Whitney, curator of this vintage collection, was kind enough to show us rooms upon rooms of the work, collected by the likes of Beaumont Newhall. Original photographs hang in all of the spaces, including dining rooms, offices, hallways, and board rooms. Whitney mentioned that people become rather attached to the work decorating their offices and become interested in the pieces. The collection is intended to be insular, as it is for the bank associates, but some of it is now on display elsewhere.

Under the Arts in Our Community program, fifty exhibits are currently touring and rotate every six months through five public art galleries. The push right now for the Bank Collection is to build communities based on the work it has collected since its start in 1967.  The bank uses this as an advertising and marketing tool; corporations have a responsibility to show the community that they care about their interests. Rather than use other art forms, the bank can reach out to society with such a democratic art form as photography, as people can relate to and appreciate it. The bank hasn’t run into as many issues with the exhibit touring as housed in the museum. Whitney recalled several instances in which work had to be taken off the walls because it made workers uncomfortable. She would have to comply because it is a work area. Perhaps this is because responding to art is foreseen at a visit to the museum and might be unexpected at the work place.

On the forty-third floor, the Bank Collection starts off with street photography. Whitney stated that this was intentional, as she wanted to open the show with ‘the decisive moment.’ She does this perfectly by displaying Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Behind Gare St. Lazare, Paris, 1932. Throughout the other rooms, works by such artists as George N. Barnard and Walker Evans ranged from one historical subject to another. Some ancient photographs revolved around the Civil War, while others showed cities and landscapes both at home and afar. Amazingly enough, many of the pieces were acquired directly from the artists. Hopefully those that have the access to view these photographs during an average work day truly appreciate their significance. The Bank Collection is one that could easily be displayed at a museum for its amount of renowned and revolutionary photographs; it was quite a privilege to be able to view such a collection.

Judging Photographs & the Filter Photo Festival

                Judging a photograph is much more than offering an opinion about the piece. An effective critic is one that supplies the reader with their insight about the piece as well as an explanation for their judgments. Though the criteria for evaluating the piece varies from one critic or work to another, alternative viewpoints and insight assist viewers in thinking about the piece from a new perspective.

                Barrett states, “A judgment is a what that demands a why.” Readers will only take the critic seriously if their appraisals are founded upon fact and criteria. This criteria is established from different art theories, including realism, expressionism, formalism, and activism. It is extremely important that the critic understands the difference between these categories. An artist might have the intent of creating a series to inform society about a problem to create change. This is going to be reviewed with consideration of how a social concern is relayed and the consequences it brings about. On the contrary, an expressionist’s work might be reviewed with consideration for the artist’s emotions and how they were portrayed. Critics might have differing criteria even for the same photograph. The photographer’s intentions should be kept in mind, not as a standard of whether the work is good or not but as a reminder of the work’s purpose.

                A critic will only be taken seriously if they remain truthful and justified. Merely stating that an artist’s work is original or moving won’t be effective unless the writer includes more details about their viewing experience. Once they explain the reasons for their judgment, their views will be taken seriously when compared or contrasted to other critics’ judgments.  Furthermore, whether a critic likes or dislikes the matter they are reviewing should not affect the rationality of their argument. A writer should be willing to educate others about their interests, but they must remember that the primary topic is about the art object, not the critic. Though passion is important when reviewing a piece, remaining educated about the work is just as crucial.

The Filter Photo Festival is a prime opportunity for photographers of all levels to learn more about the field and spark their inspiration. The workshop we attended, Funding Your Personal Photo Projects, was informative and educational. The panel of professionals has all had a large amount of experience with applying for grants and was especially helpful in providing the audience with ways to do so. A valuable tip that Rich gave was, “You have to be your number one grant-maker.” Through government, foundation, and individual or corporation grants, receiving funding for projects is quite possible. He advised to find a fiscal agent with the same mission. Similarly, Encarnacion mentioned that photographers can look for grants that aren’t photo specific. The third speaker, Carlos Ortiz, is an example of an artist receiving funding for a common purpose, social change. He posted his project, “Too Young to Die,” on Kickstarter.com, and then successfully received his funding goal through pledges of individuals also hoping to spread awareness about youth violence. Work that has an impact on an individual or historical level can undoubtedly receive funding.

                Photo festivals are a wonderful opportunity for artists from the same location to network and converse with one another. The particular workshop we attended seemed to be geared toward novice photographers, especially those right out of college. Emerging artists must keep in mind that the business side of photography has to be taken seriously. Though I don’t need to start applying for grants now, the workshop reminded me that it is important to stay organized by developing an artist’s statement and creating a resume, bio, and website. This experience was different than our studio or museum visits but was equally important, as the business side of photography can’t be forgotten about.