Latest LACMA exhibit focuses on creativity

Published: Tuesday, November 25, 1997

Tuesday, November 25, 1997

PHOTOGRAPHY: Art show examines various forms, presentation techniques

By Dayna Michaelsen

Daily Bruin Contributor

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art's latest photography exhibit is a feast for the eyes and mind. The museum is currently displaying a collection of photographs that represent a variety in both form and content that is somewhat overwhelming.

Colorful splashes and black-and-white images adorn the gallery these days, compliments of the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. There are swirls of color and light, stark faces, and geometric shapes that leap out from the plain white walls on which the photographs are hung. Many of the photographs are clear and obvious, but others play tricks on the viewer.

It takes a very close look at Arthur Siegel's "Right of Assembly," for example, to reveal that the deceptive image is actually an aerial photo of a tightly packed crowd. Anthony Aziz's "Discontinued ... No!" appears at first glance to be a collection of useful items, ranging from computer parts to deodorant bottles. The surprise is that the objects are nothing more than imaginary forms created by the photographer. While the lemons with ominous black insides of Jo Whaley's "After Zurbaran" are in sharp focus, other photographs are tweaked and blurred to be abstract and unclear.

The photographs on display range in size from huge to tiny. Laurie Simmon's "New Kitchen, Aerial View," for example, is a tiny picture of a tiny plastic kitchen that will bring back memories of Barbie houses complete with miniature pancakes. Other photographs take up almost an entire wall.

A popular subject of the photographs on display seems to be American culture, though the photographers represented are from Germany, France, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Russia, Brazil and Mexico. Two of Joel Sternfeld's photographs are set in Malibu, Calif., and are a sight to behold. The first, titled "A Woman at Home in Malibu," is the picture of a woman in a decidedly psychedelic unitard leaning against a glass table that is scattered with pasta that looks like it would only be eaten in Southern California.

Its partner, "Investment Banker at Home, Malibu, California," shows a man in leopard print underwear (we're not talking boxers here) sitting on a stationary bike while he talks on the phone and reads the newspaper. Did Sternfeld mean to be a little stereotypical, or is that how people really see life in California?

Another example of Southern California caught on film is John Humble's "Selma Avenue at Vine Street, Hollywood, January 30, 1991." Amid signs advertising KIIS-FM and other popular Los Angeles radio stations is the billboard of the famous blond, big-busted "Angelyne" in all her glory. Hiroshi Sugimoto's "Rubidoux Drive-In" portrays that American staple flanked by the silhouettes of palm trees. What draws the viewers eyes in this photo is the blank white screen glowing in the twilight.

The photographs are displayed by subject, such as photographs of people or nature. Though this may be a natural grouping, it can be counterproductive at times. With so many different types of photographs in each group, this almost simplistic way of displaying them occasionally detracts from the richness of the photographs themselves.

Not all of the pictures on display have come straight from the photographer's camera to land on the gallery walls untouched. Many have been altered by artists such as Todd Walker, who has superimposed the words, "A photograph of a leaf is not a leaf. It may not even be a photograph," over his photo. Others have been drawn upon and manipulated so that they bear no resemblance to the original photo.

Whoever said that photographs are thin and flat has obviously never seen Alfredo Jaar's "Nguyen, Four Times." Jaar has transformed his photo of a child into a light box form that changes the image at regular intervals. It's not unusual to see museum visitors examining the device closely to see how it works.

With such a variety of subjects and methods of photography, the boundaries of this art are endless. As artists such as Jaar and others work with new media and types of display, the art of photography will continue to expand. For now, however, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation have done a wonderful job of assembling a great exhibit of photography.

PHOTOGRAPHY: The exhibit will run through Feb. 23, 1998. Tickets are museum are $6 for adults and $4 with a student ID. The second Tuesday of every month is free. For more information, call (213) 857-6000.