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21/11/2002

American Perspectives

The Boston University Art Gallery, Boston

A collaborative exhibition between the Boston University Art Gallery and the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University

BOSTON- This fall, New Englanders will get a rare opportunity to see a cross-section of the historic 23,000-item Polaroid collection via a collaboratively presented exhibition hosted by the Boston University Art Gallery and the Photographic Resource Center at Boston University. After opening at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography and traveling to three prestigious Japanese venues, selections from this impressive exhibition will be presented to U.S. audiences, appropriately in Boston, near the home of the Polaroid Corporation.

This unique corporate collection and exhibition highlights the evolution of Polaroid techniques as utilized by photographers and artists alike from the 1950s to the 1990s. American Perspectives is a visual feast featuring some of the masters of twentieth-century American photography: Ansel Adams, Dawoud Bey, Nancy Burson, Chuck Close, David Levinthal, Aaron Siskind, Lucas Samaras, Andy Warhol, and Carrie Mae Weems. Add to this impressive list several well-known New England photographers who have made Polaroid processes part of their signature style-Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Alma Davenport, Béla Kalman, and Olivia Parker-to name a few, and this exhibition appeals to both local and international audiences.

The Boston University Art Gallery and the Photographic Resource Center have teamed up to host this large-scale exhibition in each of their venues presenting a total of over 90 stunning works by almost 50 artists. Exploring the implications and applications of "instant imaging" in the work of artists and photographers, each location will approach the theme from a different perspective. The Boston University Art Gallery focuses on portraiture and self-portraiture, considering how the desire to capture one's image is intensified through the immediacy of the instantaneous Polaroid process. The Photographic Resource Center looks at how artists have ruminated on the history of photography in their work by featuring images that deal with the image making process itself. Ranging from the familiar small-format Polaroid SX-70 photographs to large-scale photographs produced by the celebrated 20 x 24-inch and 40 x 80-inch cameras, the exhibition will dazzle audiences with the lush color and impressive presence of the images on view. Archival information as well as cameras and ephemera illustrating the history of Polaroid technology will also be showcased.

Since the late 1940s, Polaroid Corporation has developed and fostered a relationship with artists by encouraging them to use and experiment with Polaroid materials. As a result of this interaction, Polaroid has gained experts' observations about its products and has generated an impressive collection of photographic artwork that now comprises over 23,000 images by more than 1000 international photographers. Through this outreach program, photographers are given small film and equipment grants in exchange for images presented to the permanent collection. Since 1973, more than 45 exhibitions from the collection have toured the international museum circuit, demonstrating to a broad audience the quality and creative potential of Polaroid films.

Image: Robert Rauschenberg Kanto #2, 1987, Polaroid 20x24 Polacolor photograph

Gallery Talks
Wednesday, December 4, 2002, 1pm, Leslie Brown, Curator, PRC
Wednesday, January 15, 2002, 1pm, Stacey McCarroll, Acting Director & Curator, BUAG

Additional programming celebrating Polaroid and its practitioners, such as workshops and a panel, will accompany the exhibition.

The Boston University Art Gallery
855 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02215

Hours:
Tue-Fri 10-5pm Sat-Sun 1-5pm

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