Drawn to Light

By Suzanne Révy

Part I

I hit the photography jackpot last week on a day trip to Portland and Brunswick, Maine! We are excited to present three reviews over three days this week:

My first stop was “Drawn to Light” at the Portland Museum of Art, a survey of the educators who have taught at the Maine Media Workshops and College over the past fifty years. My review of that show follows, below. Next up, tomorrow I review Rose Marasco’s “Camera Lucida” at the University of New England’s art gallery, showcasing the breadth of the artist’s creative process that has mined domestic and feminist ideas. On Thursday, I review an extraordinary show at the Bowdoin Museum of Art in Brunswick, Maine, “People Watching: Contemporary Photography since 1965,” which brings documentary, studio, conceptual and even landscape photography together to celebrate humanity, drawn from the College’s impressive photography holdings.

Today we look at Drawn to Light at the Portland Museum of Art which is on view through September 10th, 2023. There is an in person talk on color photography planned for this Friday, August 11th from 6 to 7pm.

(Feature Image) “Leah and her Father” by Sally Mann, 1983-5, from the series At Twelve, Promised Gift from the Judy Glickman Lauder Collection, courtesy of the artist and the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine.

“Andrew Wyeth, Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania” by Arnold Newman, 1948, gelatin silver print, Gift of Owen W. and Anna H. Wells, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine.

Photography is like the English language. Each picture can function as a word, and just like in writing, can be brought together to express myriad ideas. Sometimes, it’s very technical, as in an instruction manual or a driver’s license photograph. Sometimes, it’s a visual non-fiction story and at other times, pictures can imaginary fictions. And on very special occasion, a single image can somehow contain a whole world. Pure poetry!

“Gus and Arnold Newman, New York, NY” by Andrea Modica, 2004, platinum/palladium print on vellum, (Judy Sandler and Skip Klein), installation photograph by Suzanne Révy.

Photographers from all walks of life have taught at the Maine Media workshops, and hundreds of students have found their voice through these workshops. I, for one, was bolstered in my own artistic trajectory by a week in Andrea Modica’s Intuitive Portraits class in 2005, and it is a treat to see her sublime platinum print of Gus and Arnold Newman.

“A View of the Kremlin” by Sam Abell, 1992 (top) silver dye bleach print, and “Daytona Beach, FL” by Constantine Manos, 1997, archival pigment print (bottom), from the exhibition Drawn to Light at the Portland Museum of Art, installation photograph by Suzanne Révy.

“Blue Wall with Doves” by Jay Maisel (b. 1931), dye transfer print, Gift of the artist for the Ernst Haas Memorial Collection, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME

“The Damm Family in their Car, Los Angeles, CA” by Mary Ellen Mark (1940-2015), 1987, gelatin silver print, Gift of the artist for the Ernst Haas Memorial Collection, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine.

“Drawn to Light” brilliantly shows the scale of photographic expression from National Geographic photojournalism by Sam Abell, Constantine Manos and Jay Maisel to classic black and white documentary work by Larry Fink and Mary Ellen Mark whose empathetic gazes shine a light on the economic stratifications in society. Surrealism and conceptual work could be studied through Rodney Smith whose compositions owe something to Rene Magritte. Among the other subjects offered through Maine media was portraiture. Joyce Tenneson, Melissa Shook and the late Kate Carter make ethereal compositions that look inward, revealing the emotional prowess of the camera. While Arnold Newman and Sally Mann create psychological charged portraits by incorporating the sitters’ environment.

“Three Men with Shears, No. 1 Reims, France” by Rodney Smith (1947-2016), 1997, gelatin silver print, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art., Portland, Maine

“Old Man and Deanna” by Joyce Tenneson (b. 1945), 1986, silver dye bleach print, Gift of the artist for the Ernst Haas Memorial Collection, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine.

“May 6th, 1973” by Melissa Shook (1939-2020), 1972, from the series Daily Self-Portraits, 1972-1973, gelatin silver print, gift of Leslie Smolan, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine.

“Untitled” by Kate Carter, (1946-1984), 1979, gelatin silver print on board, Promised Gift from the Judy Glickman Lauder Collection, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine.

There is a selection of experimental prints, such as Elizabeth Opalenik’s Windswept, which emphasize the hand-made and the tactile possibilities of a well crafted print to convey an idea. And of course, the light and landscape of Maine is a stunning backdrop for the workshops… imagine if you were able to take a landscape class with a master such as Paul Caponigro! His reflecting stream is study in a kind of tranquil tension of a quiet place.  I feel fortunate to have been one of the thousands of students to have studied at Maine Media, and am inspired by the broad range of instructors exhibited here.

“Windswept” by Elizabeth Opalenik (b. 1947), 1992/94, gelatin silver print, Gift of the artist in memory of Jean-Pierre Sudre for the Ernst Haas Memorial Collection, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine.

For more information: https://www.portlandmuseum.org/drawn-to-the-light

“Reflecting Stream, Redding, Connecticut” by Paul Caponigro (b. 1932), 1968, gelatin silver print mounted to board, Promised Gift from the Judy Glickman Lauder Collection, courtesy of the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine.

Stay tuned for our reviews of two other remarkable exhibits in Maine, featured here tomorrow and Thursday.

For a complete synopsis of photography exhibits in Maine, go to our Best Photo Picks Summer 2023: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/best-photo-picks-summer-2023-in-metro-boston-ma-suburbs-and-across-new-england-in-july-and-august-2023/