S2
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Following the main space’s exhibition, relating to photography and its roots, the exhibition in Sommer’s project room presents works by three established artists-photographers. Showing at the entrance to the room is a cyanotype made by Itzhak Livneh in 1994. British artist Darren Almond (b. 1971, UK) spent many years photographing carefully chosen landscapes by full moon. The moon bathes everything in a diffused light that creates faded colors, veils and discloses at the same time. The deserted landscapes often appear almost mystical and transcendent – moments of fleeting beauty. The long exposure times reveal what is normally hidden to the eye. The two images composing the diptych explore the potential of photography to depict and interpret the world, and at the same time present the photographer’s ability of manipulation. Anne Collier (b. 1970, Los Angeles) is known for works in which she explores the mysterious connections that tie photography, identity, and media. Her work establishes a tension between the pure image and what it suggests. “Developing Tray #2” depicts a photographer’s developing tray containing a print of a wide open eye – the artist’s eye – submerged in photographic developing fluid. It brings into play a wide array of conceptual themes, including the mechanics of art, an artist’s personal vision and the interplay of privacy and personal space. The eye is both looking outside as well as being watched. Collier’s gaze, like a camera’s shutter, leads us to the dimmed view of Hiroshi Sugimoto (b. 1948, Japan) on a group of skyscrapers. Sugimoto tries to trace the beginnings of our current age through architecture. “Pushing my old large-format camera’s focal length out to twice-infinity, the view through the lens was an utter blur. I discovered that superlative architecture survives, however dissolved, the attack of blurred photography on it.” On his “Conceptual Forms” series he says: “These machines and models were created without any artistic intention. This is what motivated me to produce this series and title them in this matter. Art is possible without artistic intention, and can even be better without it.”