| art.description.project | The exhibition and catalogue bring together, for the first time ever, the three photographers Harry Callahan, Dawid and Hiroshi Sugimoto. Although their works may look different at first sight, there are fundamental affinities – they all explore the limits and possibilities of photography as a creative medium. The experimental approach they represent was fundamental in the birth of photography and has since been an important aspect of the development of the medium. Qualities that are seen as distinctive of photography have been expanded in different ways – not least by being open to historically more established art forms, such as painting and sculpture, as well as film and other expressions of popular culture. Essential for this tradition is also how the photographers have often found their motifs in everyday objects and events and, with poetic transformation, turned the overlooked and contingent into things of value and lasting interest. This sudden movement, from that which is generally considered mundane to a higher order of art, makes us able to view the world in a different light. As seen by the juxtaposition of the series, the works by Callahan, Dawid and Sugimoto are informed by a double vision. The gaze is, on the one hand, directed toward concepts and methods that are crucial for photography, and, on the other, toward other artistic fields. With a great deal of curiosity, they have situated themselves in a landscape of historical and contemporary references; by the time the motif is focused on the ground glass, it has been filtered through a strong awareness about this visual ecology. The artists’ shared capacity for renewal is grounded in this self-reflecting and transgressing movement, but also has to do with their approach to the aspect of the craft. For Callahan, Dawid and Sugimoto, the execution of the picture has always played an important role and their tool has generally been the large-format camera. It is a choice that, in addition to clarity, fine gradation of shades and other technical aspects, also has to do with the process. The numerous and time-consuming elements involved in taking and producing a photograph using large film formats help to heighten the awareness of the motif as well as of one’s own work – not least the print. In the case of these three photographers, the conspicuous quality of the prints can be seen as a manifestation of their individual aesthetic and conceptual aspirations. In conjunction with the exhibition a catalogue is published by Steidl.
As a curator I have developed the content for the exhibition, made the selection of artists and works (the later in collaboration with Peter MacGill, director of PaceMacGill Gallery), planned the installation and hanged the show together with the technician at the gallery. I have also written the curatorial essay, that has been used in the catalogue and as a wall text. | sv |
