Photography is approximately 175 years old. About as old as George Eastman would be if he hadn’t taken his own life. The museum behind his home houses an amazing collection and the curators have some choice pieces on display now. Lee Frielander, August Sander, Aaron Siskind, Barbara Kruger, Lorna Simpson, Edward Weston, Henri Cartier-Brenson and Paul Strand are all represented. A Milton Rogovan tryptic of a Buffalo mother and son over a twenty year period stands out. Four 1915 mugshots from Fort Wayne, Indiana caught my eye. All were arrested for “loitering.”
You really shouldn’t have to read a wall tag to enjoy a photograph. And we couldn’t help but notice how brief August Sander’s tag was. “August Sander ‘Aviator’ 1928.” Exactly what you see. Can we have a whole show of his work?
My favorite photo was this abstract landscape by Alison Rossiter. The wall tag reads “Acme Kruxo, exact expiration date unknown, ca. 1940’s, processed in 2009.” Rossiter creates camera-less photographs on expired, vintage photo paper and this one is sensational.
Henry Wessel took this one just for me. Point blank. An abstracted, in camera construction of flat forms. This one sings!
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