From the Muses

From the Muses
2 influential Photographers visit the Valley

Growing up, Allen Ginsberg’s words spoke with a sense of knowledge and urgency. “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix.” They climbed off the page and gripped at those raw heartstrings that seemed so tangled in my chest. They evoked anger, inspired creation but most of all they completely eluded me. I loved the words, the way the rolled together, the shadow play of black on white dancing across the page as my innocent eyes took in their mystical shape but I didn’t know why. It wasn’t until almost ten years later that I could completely comprehend and appreciate their form. And initially, every art form (be it sculpture, painting, photography or whatever,) has had a similar effect. They stir something inside, even if its unclear at the time why or how.

Photography, while drastically newer than prose or poetry, is still an art form that can grip the soul and inspire motivation, apathy, and love just as strongly. And because of this newness, it is still possible to lay witness to the formation of such a powerful form. History always seems like such a dry word until it is applied to something you love and for those so moved by Photography, now is an exciting time in the valley. Two show in particular, are gracing the gallery walls of the valley, different in shape and emotion they are in the same form. Both retrospective and iconic these shows represent Photography’s development through its formative years.

After decades of struggle with race, gender, sexuality and self, Lyle Ashton Harris came to us at a time when we as a people were growing conscious of our different identities. Harris’s work began with portraiture, more often than not, placing himself as the object, but not the subject. Stepping deftly through the minefields of stigma and prejudice he embraced the elements of life that made up the self and exposed them, using himself as a canvas. Anna Deavere Smith wrote that, “Lyle’s work questions the meaning of maleness and femaleness, not to mention of blackness and whiteness…”. His exhibition Lyle Ashton Harris: Blow Up opens Feb 8th at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts. While containing images of his acclaimed portraiture, Blow up will debut Harris’s most recent body of work incorporating photojournalistic styled pieces inspired by his experiences in Ghana. The exhibit will include a large-scale wall collage consisting of video, images and found materials. From his iconic representation of Billie Holiday and the controversial passion of The Caress to his socio-political commentary this is a journey through the career of a Photography trailblazer that should not be missed.

When it comes to one’s love of Photography, its not necessarily the love of the shape that’s important. More so, it’s the love of the form. As Aristotle reminds us, form is not shape. “The wood that becomes a chair as a result of human productivity takes on a form- the form of chairness- that it did not have before the maker transformed it.”1 And like carpenters crafting wood in the form of a chair, Photographers have crafted images into the form of photographs. It’s not the process, or the shapes that dictate a picture’s “photographness,” it’s the form. So to fully appreciate and love a form, one must pay respect to those pioneers of modern photography, for they are the craftsman who took heed from the muses and grasped the immaterial and carved it into what we know today.

Another body of work, so epic in our Pop culture society that it must have been shot through the eye of Calliope(2) herself, is that of legendary fashion photographer Richard Avedon. Cementing his legacy early on, Avedon began his career after being discovered by the director for Harper’s Bazaar. Soon he was working with such high caliper magazines as Vogue and Time. While continuing with his work in the high paced world of pop and fashion, photographing icons such as Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and Audrey Hepburn, Avedon struck out into other fields of photography. While social change in the late 60’s and early 70’s provided much in the way of photojournalism, it was his love of portraiture and its ability to capture the soul that led him to create intimate photo’s of some of the worlds most influential people. Richard Avedon: Photographer of Influence will explore his evolution as artist and display his brilliance in both fashion, and portraiture. Listed in American Photo Magazine’s “top 100”, Richard Avedon is the quintessential photographer to the stars. Running now through April 13th at the Phoenix Art Museum, this is a show to see despite your love or hate relationship with Fashion and Pop culture.

To us, change represents the presence of time. Without it there would be no history, no forward or backward. To bear witness, in a lifetime, to the history of an Art Form is a gift in itself from the Muses and should be cherished. Richard Avedon and Lyle Ashton Harris are by no means the Alpha or Omega, but they are there now for your eyes, important figures in the changing history of an evolving art form

1 Aristotle for Everybody
2 meaning the 'beautiful of speech': chief of the muses and muse of epic or heroic poetry

Richard Avedon: Photographer of Influence
Phoenix Art Museum
Now – April 13th 2008
www.phxart.org

Lyle Ashton Harris: Blow Up
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts
Feb 8th – May 27th
Opening Reception Feb 8th 5:30pm

Other events
First Friday Art Walk
Feb 1st 6- 10 pm
50+ Galleries displaying local and national artwork.
Live entertainment
Downtown Phoenix
Visit www.artlinkphoenix.org for more details.