The Constructed Photograph
Stephanie Washburn, Telltale (Bottle mouth, bubble wrap and dirt), 2013. Digital C-print. Museum purchase, funds provided by The Mark and Hilarie Moore Family Trust in memory of Margaret Fallon.
Since its debut in 1839, the medium of photography has proven remarkably flexible in its processes, materials, and meanings. Contemporary photographers have seized on this adaptability to expand the idea of what a photographic work of art can be.
This exhibition features 10 artworks by 7 artists that in various ways embody the idea of photographic construction. This can mean melding materials and photographs together to construct painterly or sculptural objects; or constructing tableaux meant to be photographed and then later dismantled. By incorporating elements of painting, sculpture, and film into their works, all the artists here have pushed the boundaries of photography into new terrain in contemporary art practice. Artists include Oliver Boberg, James Casebere, John Divola, Todd Gray, Gerald Incandela, Kunie Sugiura, and Stephanie Washburn.
