The Faceless Figure
dal 20/12/2003 al 13/6/2004
Segnalato da
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Connie Imboden
William Larson
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Jerry Uelsmann
Katherine Ware
20/12/2003
The Faceless Figure
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
The human figure has long been a favorite subject of the camera. In this exhibition of more than fifty photographs from the Museum's collection, artists purposely defy our expectations and the conventions of portraiture by taking pictures of people whose faces we can’t see. The result is a body of pictures ranging from the unsettling to the hilarious
The human figure has long been a favorite subject of the camera. In this exhibition of more than fifty photographs from the Museum's collection, artists purposely defy our expectations and the conventions of portraiture by taking pictures of people whose faces we can’t see. The result is a body of pictures ranging from the unsettling to the hilarious.
Photographers Edward Weston and Barbara Morgan concentrate on the beauty and eloquence of the human torso, while Lee Friedlander finds humor in figures whose faces are obscured by a camera or a placard. In some images, the anonymity of the figure is used to suggest Everyman, while others teach us that it is not just our faces that make us individuals. Techniques used by the photographers include back views, silhouetting, and cropping. Other figures are cloaked, masked, or in motion. The exhibition includes inventive images by a wide range of photographers, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Connie Imboden, William Larson, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, and Jerry Uelsmann.
Curator
Katherine Ware, Curator of Photographs, Alfred Stieglitz Center
Image: Burk Uzzle 1984, Industrial Accident Victim, Daytona Beach, Florida. Gelatin silver print
Location
The Julien Levy Gallery, ground floor
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 26th Street | Philadelphia, PA 19130