BRUCE DAVIDSON – TIME OF CHANGE

Posted on 2013-08-05

Time of Change is presented in conjunction with the current exhibition entitled 1963, which brings together more than 40 photographs depicting events from Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C. to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

On May 25, 1961, Bruce Davidson joined a group of Freedom Riders traveling by bus from Montgomery, Alabama, to Jackson, Mississippi. The actions of these youths, in racially mixed groups, challenged segregation in bus seating in the South and led to violence and arrests. In 1962, Davidson received a Guggenheim Fellowship and continued documenting the era, including the five-day march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, with Martin Luther King, Jr.

Davidson’s gelatin silver prints depict both critical historical events as well as poignant and intimate moments. His photographs have been described as “extraordinary for the depth of their feeling and their poetic mood” and the work in Time of Change is no exception. A black woman held by two white police officers stands in front of a movie theater marquee sign that reads, “Damn the Defiant.” Martin Luther King, Jr. is shown with Mrs. King and Rosa Parks in a 1965 print. The day-to-day existence of Southerners is depicted in images where black nannies are caring for white children, three bridesmaids are dressed to the nines, boys are picking cotton, couples are dancing near a jukebox, and hecklers are taunting the Freedom Riders in Montgomery.

Exhibition runs through till August 31st, 2013

Howard Greenberg Gallery
The Fuller Building
41 East 57 Street
Suite 1406
New York
NY
10022

www.howardgreenberg.com

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JOHN H. WHITE – CHICAGO

Posted on 2013-08-05

John H. White (1945) is a renowned American photojournalist. His photography documents the everyday lives and political events in American cities, particularly Chicago. He was a staff photographer on the Chicago Sun-Times for 35 years, and won a Pulitzer prize in 1982. The exhibition concentrates on photographs depicting life for families living in Chicago housing projects in the 1980s.

The controversial dissolution of the Sun-Times photography department earlier this year stirred up much debate regarding the significance of photojournalism. Therefore this exhibition highlights the works by one of the world’s most influential photojournalists and as a testament to the enduring importance of this occupation.

Exhibition runs through till October 5th, 2013

Daniel Blau
51 Hoxton Square
London
N1 6PB

www.danielblau.com

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PETER MARLOW – THE ENGLISH CATHEDRAL

Posted on 2013-08-05

In 2008, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the completion of St Paul’s Cathedral, Peter Marlow was commissioned by Royal Mail to shoot six cathedrals (Litchfield, Belfast, Gloucester, St David’s, Westminster, St Magnus in Orkney). The resulting photographs were issued as a set of 6 commemorative stamps and a miniature sheet. Once the commission was complete however, Marlow was inspired to continue in a similar vein, out of his own interest and in the following four years, he shot the 42 cathedrals of the Church of England – an endeavour that can be placed within the tradition of church photography in England, particularly the work of Frederick Evans and Edwin Smith.

“I began by photographing the aesthetic highlights of each building, but the images seemed to merge with one another. In order to differentiate each place I needed to find a more rigorous and systematic approach, so I adopted the simple strategy of photographing the naves looking along the central axis”, says Marlow. Most cathedrals were therefore shot from the same position: looking East towards the altar as dawn broke through the main window, with all artificial lighting turned off. The viewpoint adds depth to the visual experience of the building, while the discipline of this strict approach allows the power of the place to unfold in the dark. Each cathedral was shot on large format film, bringing into sharp relief the splendour of the architecture, whatever the style.

Peter Marlow writes: “Air rifles or the Mappa Mundi: the memories of peripheral things remain as vivid as the historical highlights of each place. I did plenty of research before each visit, and once I felt I had completed the photography, I would spend time sitting in the nave, absorbing the power of a place where for centuries people had experienced the energy, fear and balm of religion. Everything about these places has already been said, but they have not all been “experienced”.”

Exhibition runs through till August 24th, 2013

Wapping Project Bankside
65a Hopton Street
London
SE1 9LR

www.thewappingprojectbankside.com

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