Limits of Photography Show Review

The Limits of Photography show at MoCP curated by Rod Slemmons displays  a wide range of the limits and dimensional avenues that photography is capable of. The space is curated well as each photographer has their own clean wall space. Slemmons frames the show by quoting an ad from Life Magazine that provokes the viewer in a bold and theoretical manner. However, using this framework for the show seems to contrast the majority of the works do not compellingly depict contemporary ideas or manifestations in society's way of seeing.  

The majority of the photographers on the first floor utilize ideas of the tactility of the photograph, how the photograph interacts with other objects as things that occupy space in 2-dimensions. Sally Ketchum's photo collages lend themselves to the work of Robert Rauschenberg. His photo montage paintings were occasionally paired with a wide range of objects to push the limits of both sculpture and painting. Ketchum's collages do not measure up to the limits of photography as each piece is a timid attempt in the shadow of Rauschenberg's paintings 40 years prior. The textures of the painting and photo painting do provide some aesthetic pleasure but do not captivate the viewer in relation to the issues she claims interest in. Her use of compiling images from suburbia and painting over them with textural manipulations aim to become political with the title but fall short of creating a discourse. 

Randy Hayes' piece  titled, "Pass Christian/ Kyoto" 2008 also falls short of creating a compelling discourse around a political and "emotional" subject. Hayes' piece is compiled by tiling many silver prints together to create one image, which is then painted over in a quick gestural manner. From the beginning it is hard to overcome the use of the silver push pins and it must be assumed that it is intentional. However, after absorbing the piece there seems to be a lack for intentional reasoning and it becomes very distracting. There is a large disconnect between the Asian structures and the women and the painting and the pushpins. They do not seem to create a larger dialogue about anything as each element is very distinct from the other. The piece has a blatant rigidity because of the title's  political implications which are directly in the image.

The show's two video pieces seem to be the only works that are able to excel. They are both installed in distinct spaces as J.J Murphy's piece, "Sky Blue, Water Light Sign" has its own room and Chris Naka's piece, "I Can't Feel My Face" is installed in the stairwell viewing space. 

J.J Murphy's piece creates the illusion of a simple video panorama of nature. The viewer realizes quickly that it is not as simple as such but the simplicity creates a dimension of intrigue. The grand act of recording nature automatically ties Murphy to Ansel Adams and other members of the f64group. However, Murphy's intentions are not politically the same as the piece has an edge of tromp l'oeil that is more playful. The playful aspect of the piece also comes from the colors that are seen in older children's books or toys, which dates the piece a bit making it easier to appreciate the work of the 16mm. Chris Naka's piece is shot by only using his iPhone and iPad, which interestingly contrasts with Murphy's 16mm piece. It presents the ability to touch the photograph without doing so, rendering idea about the lack of materiality and yet higher capability of physically exploring an image within finger's reach. The piece allows the viewer to think about our relation to images as closer yet further away. This piece successfully links to the quote that Slemmons provides by thinking about seeing as physically touching. Naka's piece is able to create a question around his piece without answering it so directly which proves to be much more stimulating than the other works in the show. 

It is the artist's job to utilize the materiality as visual clues to guide the viewer in understanding and appreciate their construction and ideas. The show does talk about different limitations of photography but does not intrigue the viewer because most of the work's clues are disconnected or connected in a non-contemporary way. Slemmons' was smart to include the two video pieces which talk about the limits of photography by being videos. The artists in the show generally had work that seemed to lack a contemporary twist for their time. In some ways they were more limited by the limits of history vs. pushing the limits of photography.