Icons of American Photography

I visited the Frick Art & Historical Center to see the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Icons of American Photography exhibit  this week.  And I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves photography.  The collection is made up of 59 photographs dating between 1850 and 1960, so it’s a great opportunity to set aside our digital cameras for a moment and think about all of the considerations and calculations that went into these photos and just marvel in the imagery.

Have you ever notice how formal or stiff portraits from the nineteenth century seem?  We take shutter speed for granted today, but this exhibit reminded me of why portraits of my family several generations ago seemed so boring—they had to stay still to avoid blurring the exposure.  Anyhow, the exhibit is far from boring.  The prints are in pristine condition and it was fascinating to see the creativity of these photographers during a time when the photographic world was developing wildly.

I walked away with the satisfaction that, in addition to jazz, Americans have played a role in the development of photography.  We don’t always get to enjoy that kind of history when it comes to architecture and other art forms.  Plus there were a lot of women photographers in this collection and that is something that I found to be very inspiring.  Like many fields, photography seems to be one that’s dominated by men and it was great to see that women have been making photographs all along.

In addition to the Icons collection, the Frick also has a collection of photographs by Esther Bubley during a project in which she was commissioned to stay at Children’s Hospital and document the hospital life and its patients.  In looking at her work, you could just tell that she had a good rapport with the patients there.  Her photos felt so natural and honest and it was interesting to see what the hospital was like in 1951.

Check out the Frick’s site for more information on these exhibitions.