Photo Fridays: Staged for the Camera May 4, 2012

Since photography’s inception, its practitioners have arranged people and objects in front of their cameras for both practical and aesthetic considerations. Investigations into framing, composition, allegory, and interpretation will be presented, as well as images that explore the camera’s ability to describe and transform shapes, textures, light, and shadow. This viewing will include work by Ruth Bernard, Paul Caponigro, Margrethe Mather, Eadweard Muybridge, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Joel-Peter Witkin.

Photo Friday is an exclusive look at the Center’s world-renowned fine art photograph collection. The first Friday of every month from 11:30am to 3:30pm, the public will be able to view original works of photographic art in our Print Study Room on the second floor. Without frame or glass, visitors can examine each photograph’s surface, see detail otherwise obscured by protective glass, and connect with the works on an intimate level. This is an extraordinary opportunity typically enjoyed by specialists. Expect to see collection highlights as well as surprising, lesser-known treasures that will help inform your knowledge of the history of photography, its techniques, and its practitioners. The works selected for Photo Friday will change every month, so we hope visitors will want to come back for Photo Fridays throughout the year.