“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”
~from A Tale of Two Cities (1895) by Charles Dickens
By Elin Spring
In a departure from the customary open call for submissions to the Griffin Museum’s Annual Juried Exhibition, this year’s 29th show has a theme, “Under the Mask,” chosen to reflect personal and collective pandemic experiences. Guest curator Lisa Volpe, Curator of Photography at MFA, Houston, took inspiration from the famous – and surprisingly timeless – quote from the opening line of Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities.” Her selection highlights the many contradictions of pandemic life and expresses her feeling that “only a range of photographs, points of view, and styles representing wisdom and foolishness, light and dark, hope and despair could capture a sense of our last three years.”
Two notable solo exhibits are showing at the same time in the museum’s smaller galleries: Rohina Hoffman’s “Embrace” in the Griffin Gallery and Jason Reblando’s “Field Studies” in the Griffin Atelier Gallery. All exhibits are on view through May 28th, 2023.
FEATURE IMAGE: “Serving Lobster” from the Covid Diary series by Nancy Scherl (Arthur Griffin Legacy Award), courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“What day is it?” This was an early and pervasive rejoinder as we hunkered down during the pandemic. Confined to our homes, we simply lost track as hours, days and weeks droned on inside the same set of walls. For many people, the struggle of signifying the passage of time spawned diaries. Especially diaries of our food, that most basic human need. Suddenly, images of our meals flooded social media, helping us differentiate our days while providing a form of social nutrition. In a photograph that duly honors its namesake’s editorial flair, Nancy Scherl’s “Serving Lobster” from her Covid Diary series won this year’s Arthur Griffin Legacy Award. Her luscious offering epitomizes how images of meals and their often elaborate settings were elevated into an art form during the pandemic.
“Wallpaper” by JoAnn Chaus, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Domestic” 2021, by Sharon Draghi, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Doll #123440” 2021, by Law Hamilton, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
Our confinement to the domestic sphere gave rise to an impressive array of photographic expressions, from feelings of claustrophobia and entrapment by JoAnn Chaus, Sharon Draghi and Law Hamilton to affecting portraits of contemplation and longing by Barrett Emke (Honorable Mention), Yorgos Efthymiadis and Sylvie Redmond (Honorable Mention).
“Dominic as Farnese Hercules” 2021, by Barrett Emke (Honorable Mention), courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Maria O.” 2020, by Yorgos Efthymiadis, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Untitled” 2022, by Sylvie Redmond (Honorable Mention), courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Tears” 2022, by Stephen Albair, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Memory and Thorn” 2022, by Sally Bousquet, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
Photographers like Stephen Albair and Sally Bousquet employed magical realism to seek escape from domestic boundaries while others like Jeff Larason and Bruce Magnuson combed nearly empty city streets or abandoned parks to put a fine point on our upside down world of collective isolation. In comparison, Alexa Cushing’s (Honorable Mention) nighttime street shot of a foreboding stop sign is pierced with light rays symbolizing hope.
Photograph by Jeff Larason, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Ponyhenge” 2022, by Bruce Magnuson, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Headlights” 2022, by Alexa Cushing (Honorable Mention), courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Three Lillies” 2020, by Nanci Kahn, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
Many of us sought solace in the natural world, whether we were native dwellers or among the exodus of urbanites to safer pastures. The mesmerizing close-up swirl of lilypads by Nanci Kahn contrasts with the sweeping and immersive wintry landscape by Suzanne Révy (Griffin Prize) and the fantasy landscape composite by Lisa Cassell-Arms.
“First Snowfall, Hartwell Pond” 2021, by Suzanne Révy (Griffin Prize), from the series A Murmur in the Trees, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“The Villa” 2021, from the series Merged Landscapes: New Lands by Lisa Cassell-Arms, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Against These Ruins” 2022, by Suzanne Theodora White (Director’s Prize), courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Hoop Houses Afray” by Ellen Konar & Steve Goldband (Honorable Mention), courtesy of the artists and Griffin Museum of Photography.
The constraints of the real world provoked some to express themselves through abstraction. Photographs by Suzanne Theodora White (Director’s Choice), Ellen Konar & Steve Goldband (Honorable Mention), Vicki Reed, and John Hesketh utilized black and white’s emphasis on form and texture to offer thought-provoking and sensual viewpoints.
“Symmetria 63” 2021, by Vicki Reed, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Seduction” 2021, by John Hesketh, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Nito, Age 28” from the American Bedroom series by Barbara Peacock (Honorable Mention), courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
Satire can be an opportune antidote in desperate times, bringing a sparkle back to weary souls. Photographer Barbara Peacock (Honorable Mention) met the absurdity of the moment with frenetic humor, while Joan Fitzsimmons’ spirited and piercing still-life hit a metaphoric bullseye.
“Art History 2020.05” 2021, by Joan Fitzsimmons, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
For more information on all current exhibitions and associated programming, go to: https://griffinmuseum.org/current-exhibitions/
From the series Generation 1.75 by Rohina Hoffman, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
In the Griffin Gallery, photographer Rohina Hoffman’s solo exhibit Embrace is a visually and poetically scripted narrative merging her two series, Generation 1.75 and In Gratitude. In mellifluous and vibrant ways, each traces the artist’s’s bridge between Indian and American cultures, centering on the importance of symbols in graphically bold and inviting images.
For our review of Embrace, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/book-review-the-answers-take-time-by-annu-palakunnathu-matthew-embrace-by-rohina-hoffman-spin-club-stories-by-astrid-reischwitz/
From the series In Gratitude by Rohina Hoffman, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
“Ifugao Belle,” photocollage, acrylic, from the series Field Notes by Jason Reblando, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
In the Griffin Atelier Gallery, artist Jason Reblando’s solo exhibit Field Notes features collaged images that visually disrupt archival photographs made in the Philippines by 19th and 20th century colonizers from the United States. Incorporating euro-centric scales, standards and measurements, lively colors and geometric shapes contrast with vintage B&W photographs, accentuating their cultural appropriation and challenging a modern world where the subjugation of cultures sadly persists.
For our review of Field Notes, go to: https://www.whatwillyouremember.com/prc-boston-exposure-2022-catherine-edelman-jason-reblando-sue-palmer-stone-joni-lohr-bryan-florentin-april-friges-mccormick-brubaker-fritz-goeckner-judyta-grudzien-pamela-hawkes-julie-mihaly-david-sok/
“National Geographic Bagobo Warriors” 2021, from the Field Notes series by Jason Reblando, courtesy of the artist and Griffin Museum of Photography.
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