We called the Eastman House to confirm that they were still having the opening for Roger Ballen’s photos on Friday night. The show went on but the heavy snow made for a small crowd. We had a delicious cup of hot cider, chatted with photographer, Brian Peterson, and dove into the show. I was looking forward to this show based on the few reproductions I had seen in the promo pieces (like the twins above) but the more we saw in the show the less I liked.
The Eastman’s website says, “Ballen creates visual ambiguities as universal metaphors of the human condition.” He forgoes a strictly documentary approach . . . collaborating directly with the subject to create the sculptures and drawings that appear in the photographs.” The arty wall drawings and staged positioning of slightly strange people left me feeling manipulated. I loved the square format black and whites but to me they they look better small online and they don’t hold up at two or three feet. And this collection which is billed as a retrospective of sorts has too much of the same thing. He has been compared to Diane Arbus and Arbus is always accused of manipulating her subjects but for me Arbus celebrates humanity while Ballen uses it as a prop.
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