Stephen Perloff was a juror for the photography exhibition. Photo courtesy of theartblog.org

On Feb. 7 “Of Memory, Bone & Myth National Photography Exhibition” had its opening reception. I was able to speak with the show’s juror, Stephen Perloff, who is an editor of the “Photo Review” quarterly journal.

Photography is not my strong point, but one thing that I have found in the medium is that it struggles to present the future because its strength lies in the past. Photography is often evidence of an event taking place. Photos are too frequently used as facts in everything from court prosecutions to latest gossip on celebrities. Fortunately, the understanding of the medium is progressing more into an art form thanks to work by writers and artists like Perloff.

It was not until 1968 that the first major photography gallery opened in New York. Work from some of the shows were first sold for a couple hundred dollars and now those works are auctioned off for millions.

To make it as a photographer in the early 20th century, one had to work with the government. Walker Evans, for example, worked for the Farm Security Administration to document the impoverished people of the great depression. These photographs were first seen as documents and are now hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Photography is a tremendously manipulatable medium. Seeing photography as art helps humble its documentary in nature. One might ask, “Which pictures did Evan’s decided to take? How did he crop them? How did he use poses and lighting for them?”

I believe photography is still one of the most evidence-based mediums, but everyone knows how a photo can make us look good or bad by changing a few little things.

Perloff commented on this subject with the show’s statement. He wrote, “Events we cannot quite grasp have just happened — or are about to happen. Nothing is readily apparent.”

I enjoyed many works in this exhibit. Cassandra Klos’ ominous image entitled “Chevy” shows a woman standing by a ‘50s style Chevy looking into a light coming from out of the scene.

This photograph immediately reminded me of the work by Gregory Crewdson, who once blocked off a high traffic street for several days in order to create a single set of car tracks in snow. It is said that he does not necessarily take photographs as much as he paints them.

Another image that caught my eye was “Untitled” by Stephen Marc. Its documentation of a cultural event seemed to have an influence of Stephen Shore. Shore traveled the U.S. and possibly paved the way for color photography of banal subject matter.

This exhibit provided an enjoyable walkthrough, showing a few controversial works. It was well put together by Suzanne Gonsalez-Smith, and is currently open for viewing at the Myers Art Gallery in the Hughes Fine Arts Center.

Billy Rerick is the cartoonist for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected]