Brian Finke, American, born 1976; Untitled (Football #106), 2002; chromogenic print, 30 x 30 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of the artist and ClampArt 184:2003 © Brian Finke
FEBRUARY 19–MAY 13, 2012
The Theater of Contemporary Photography is a compelling survey of contemporary photographers, many presented in St. Louis for the first time. Seen together, the works reveal the remarkable potential of the photographic medium in contemporary artistic practice. On view will be over 40 works from an international group of artists which includes Thomas Struth, Carrie Mae Weems, and Gregory Crewdson.These photographers have focused on the elements of scene setting and directing to meticulously construct environments that are mesmerizing in their large scale, absorbing in their uncanny beauty, and haunting in their elusive meaning. They inventively exploit photography's unique capacity to operate in the boundaries between fact and fiction. Each image is the product of the painstaking execution of the ambitious vision of the artist.
Curated by Eric Lutz, associate curator of prints, drawings and photographs, with Ann-Maree Walker, research assistant, An Orchestrated Vision: The Theater of Contemporary Photography will be on view in the Main Exhibition Galleries.
An Orchestrated Vision: The Theater of Contemporary Photography has been organized by the Saint Louis Art Museum. Financial assistance has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Two smaller exhibitions will be presented in conjunction with The Theater of Contemporary Photography. As part of the Museum's New Media Series, Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler's film Single Wide will be on view in Gallery 301 from January 13 through March 25, 2012. Two still photographs by Hubbard and Birchler are included in the feature exhibition.
Providing a prehistory to the 44 works in the feature exhibition, the Museum's Focus on the Collection installation The First Act: Staged Photography Before 1980, will be on view in Gallery 321 from January 20 through April 29, 2012.
Providing a prehistory to the 44 works in the feature exhibition, the Museum's Focus on the Collection installation The First Act: Staged Photography Before 1980, will be on view in Gallery 321 from January 20 through April 29, 2012.
