In a sophisticated and deeply satisfying show, the 20th Juried Exhibition at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA favors complexity over spectacle. Rather than filling the gallery walls with trendy, sensational “made you look” images, juror Aline Smithson engages us with her selections that make you want to look…and linger. Like the individual photographs themselves, this is a show that offers greater gifts with every viewing. Fortunately, the exhibit runs for the remainder of the summer, through August 31, 2014.
“Lindeka Stulo, Nyanga, Cape Town” from the series “Corrective Rape” by Clare Carter, winner of the Peter Urban Legacy Award (courtesy of the artist)
That’s not to say that the photographs chosen by Smithson lack deep or disturbing themes, far from it. But the meanings are below the surface, you have to search for them. The images themselves tend to be aesthetic, only hinting at their layered connotations. A prime example is the winner of the Peter Urban Legacy Award. This environmental portrait by Clare Carter depicts a South African woman who has survived repeated beatings intended to “cure” her lesbian orientation. But on its surface, the photograph greets us with a warm, sunny palette of golds and browns and a balanced, asymmetric composition. Carter’s wary but unwavering subject sits symbolically off-center in the foreground, her scale dominating the unfocused, ambiguously intentioned people in the background of a neighborhood, home to rows of identical cottages. More moving for its restrained tone, Carter’s image puts a face on the tenacity of the human spirit against egregious inhumanities.
“Untitled (pool), 2013” digital C-print from the series “Laws of Silence” by Jennifer McClure, winner of the Arthur Griffin Legacy Award (courtesy of the artist and Drift Gallery, NH)
The winner of the Arthur Griffin Legacy Award, a self-portrait by Jennifer McClure, is similarly nuanced even as it appears transcendently beautiful on its surface. In her photograph, the artist is suspended underwater with arms outstretched as if surrendering, ensconced by bubbles from her plunge. The scene is at once tranquil and effervescent and yet one can sense some ambiguity. In actuality, McClure is caught in the act of photographing one of her persistent fears, an endeavor which “has shown me that fear is a choice and that I can also be carried.” Indeed, the prevailing mood is peaceful and I think that McClure’s subliminal message is the key to its being such an enthralling image.
“Blacked Out Polaroid Sign #1, 2011” gelatin silver/Polaroid Type 55 negative, archival inkjet print, from the series “On Polaroid” by Samuel Walker, winner of the Griffin Award (courtesy of the artist)
Winner of the Griffin Award, Samuel Walker’s abstract B&W photograph is part of a series, “On Polaroid”, in which he uses a variety of Polaroid films to document now defunct Polaroid Corporation facilities throughout Massachusetts. The diamond-shaped center of his image, photographed against a cinderblock wall, has been blacked out just like the factories in his series. This is a mournful homage embedded in richly textured chemical brushstrokes and the iconic markings of the Polaroid film from which the image is constructed. In his abstraction, Walker combines texture, form and tonality in an evocative tribute to the corporation that forever changed the way that artists think about photography.
“Vestige #9” digital print on antique Cabinet Card from the series “Behance” by Honorable Mention winner Greg Sand (courtesy of the artist)
For his creative exploration of the temporality of life, Greg Sand won an Honorable Mention. Attempting to “shape our experience of loss”, Sand manipulates found antique portraits, removing all but a vestige of the person photographed (in this case, the shoes) to eerie and thought-provoking effect. For work recalling the childhood longings lodged within a painfully death-pocked youth, Susan Worsham received Honorable Mention. The color portrait of her dozing elderly neighbor, whose gaping mouth reveals the bloody traces of a recent tooth extraction, is equal parts clinical and nostalgic. Worsham’s bittersweet image embodies both death and beauty: her beloved aging friend and the last remaining connection to her childhood.
“Blood Stained Mouth” archival pigment print from 4×5 negative, from the series “Bittersweet on Bostwick Lane” by Honorable Mention winner Susan Worsham (courtesy of the artist)
Keiko Hiromi won Honorable Mention for her sensitive depiction of Liberians, a people ravaged by two recent civil wars and plagued by the deprivation of basic services such as water and electricity. Her intimate, solemn photograph of a child having her hair braided by her mother and sister using a flashlight in the dark illustrates the warmth and tenderness that can prevail despite grave challenges, literally shining a light on how humanity can be uplifted through even the most mundane and ritualistic acts of caring.
“Hair, 2013” archival digital print by Honorable Mention winner Keiko Hiromi (courtesy of the artist and Panopticon Gallery, Boston)
As remarkable as these photographs are, this overview of the show’s prizewinners cannot do justice to the other 54 photographs that are on exhibit in the Main Gallery, not to mention the additional 60 photographs featured in a first-time “virtual gallery”, viewable onsite and online. Juror Aline Smithson studied and sifted through over 3000 images by 411 photographers to create these collections. I found the cohesion of the show exhilarating and think Smithson deserves high praise for selecting photographers who share “the weight of intention behind the work”. Smithson elaborates, “In a world when every single living thing has been photographed or has a camera, it’s that deep thinking that moves the work into the next level.” Indeed, “deep thinking” is one of those qualities that makes experiencing art so gratifying. And I can’t think of a more compelling reason to step away from your screen and visit the 20th Juried Show at the Griffin Museum. At least once.
“What Is Done in the Darkness Will Be Brought to the Light, 2012” archival pigment print by Amy Friend (courtesy of the artist)
For more information about the 20th Juried Exhibition at the Griffin Museum of Photography, go to: http://www.griffinmuseum.org/blog/griffin-main-gallery/
Feature image: “Untitled (pool), 2013” digital C-print from the series “Laws of Silence” by Jennifer McClure, winner of the Arthur Griffin Legacy Award (courtesy of the artist and Drift Gallery, NH)
“Night Mist, 2013” archival pigment print by Bob Avakian (courtesy of the artist)
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