Two massive works by photographer Wendy Ewald dominate the rear wall of the Zilkha Gallery and immediately capture the viewer’s attention, yet at first glance their subject is unclear and compels closer inspection. The assertive ambiguity of these images resonates with the tone shared by much of the work featured in “Framing and Being Framed: The Uses of Documentary Photography,” a compelling exhibition that explores how contemporary artists both utilize and critique the medium of documentary photography. As the first installment of “Eye of History: The Camera as Witness”—a series of exhibitions, talks and films hosted at Wesleyan this semester—the show opens at Zilkha today, Sept. 12, with a reception from five to seven p.m.
A deep distrust of the capacity of photographic documentation to capture the “truth” of its subject matter unites the artists in the show, who all explore the power of context to determine photographic meaning.
“A lot of this work comes out of a postmodern critique of representation which proposed the idea that an art object needs to be viewed and analyzed within an expanded context, not just as an isolated phenomenon,” explained Curator of Exhibitions Nina Felshin. “It needs to be ‘framed,’ hence the title of the show. Among other things, much greater credence was given to self-representation as a means to include formerly excluded voices.“
The attempt to give expression to under-represented voices motivates Eric Gottesman’s moving contribution to the show. Collaborating with the orphaned children of AIDS victims in Ethiopia, Gottesman brings together a constellation of perspectives in his wall assemblage featuring the childrens’ writings and photographs of one another.
Susan Meiselas’ aka Kurdistan similarly endeavors to give voice to a traditionally marginalized group of people. Meiselas’ massive documentary archive —only a small portion of which is on view at Zilkha— is comprised of photographs and text by Kurdish people, which serve as a medium of historical memory and a vehicle for cultural exchange. Meiselas’ project also exists in book and website form, exemplifying the wide diversity of media that are included in “Framing and Being Framed.” The exhibition incorporates video displays, web-based installations, and pieces that are records of site-specific art projects.
”When I started working on this exhibition, I thought it would be primarily comprised of framed photographs,” Felshin said. “I hadn’t anticipated how multi-dimensional and technology-based the show actually turned out to be. I think this is both a reflection of a general tendency among contemporary artists and the impact of digital technologies on all our lives, artists included.“
Much of the work in “Framing and Being Framed” is overtly political, yet the show rarely comes off as attempting to persuade or argue a specific ideological position. An-My Lês photographs of U.S. marines training for combat in the California desert, for instance, are among the more equivocal images that one is likely to encounter of the United States military.
It is difficult to tell exactly what the soldiers in Lês photographs are doing: They don’t quite seem to be fighting a war, but their activity is certainly not play or contest. And set against the backdrop of a Western landscape that looks disarmingly Middle Eastern, their location in space is impossible to pin down. The overall effect is one of irresolution and uncertainty, of an open question waiting to be resolved.
Felshin admits that the exhibit raises more questions than it answers.
”There is often ambiguity in his kind of work,” Felshin said. “In one sense it demands a lot of the viewer, but in another it’s very generous because it allows the viewer to project his or her own imagination or baggage. This not only leaves room for the imagination but I think it also makes the work more accessible. It gives you space and encourages you to think.“
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