An Unexpected Aesthetic: The Search for New Directions
March 1, 2012 - May 5, 2012
Mary Cheung, Margo Jones-Duvall, Cody Edison, Janet Fine, Genevieve Hastings, Greg Mettler, Ben Nixon, Gary Shallcross, and Matthew Vogt
Curator: Claire Lerner
The Center for Photographic Art is pleased to present nine contemporary photographers whose work was selected for its diverse array of photographic media, viewpoints, and content.
This exhibit presents a variety of approaches, formal attributes, techniques, and career positions. A common thread linking these exceptional image-makers is their successful ability to discover something unique and unexpected as they explore the medium of photography. They find it essential to regulate, interact with, and influence the photographic process and to interpret and actively interject their responses to the subject. The photographers in this unique exhibition allow the viewer access to something remarkable that could not be perceived or understood in another medium.
Ansel Adams and Edward Weston broke with the tradition before them; the profound element in their work was their remarkable innovation. With this exhibition we are returning to the tradition of innovation in photography.
How does the contemporary photographer create under the weight of what has come before, especially on California’s Monterey Peninsula? The need to make it new requires a search for a unique direction, which in turn requires the discovery of unexpected techniques, ideas and vision through which the artist gains new insight. The burden of the contemporary photographer is the imperative to disrupt convention and continue to evolve.
About the Curator(s)
An Unexpected Aesthetic: The Search for New Directions
This soft-cover catalog includes 27 images from the 9 innovative contemporary artists featured in the exhibition. The book, designed for CPA by Takigawa Design, includes statements from each artist and the curator.
