The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has an exhibit titled “New Photography 2012” that is displaying until February 4, 2013. It presents five artists: Michele Abeles, Birdhead (Ji Weiyu and Song Tao), Anne Collier, Zoe Crosher, and Shirana Shahbazi. These artists explore the definition of photography in our digital age when most photographs are viewed on a computer screen or tablet.
Together, these artists speak to the diverse permutations of photography in an era when the definition of the medium is continually changing.
The video (a long 37:19) discusses the work of the five artists in some depth and also gives us an insight into how MoMA selects which artists to exhibit. The curator probably got the copyright part wrong for some of the art works include other artists’ work.
As all Art exhibits, be aware that some nudity of the human body is involved. And, as most Art exhibits, the term “photography” has been broadly redefined to mean a photo is involved in the making of the art piece and it requires many, many, (sigh) many words to describe what you are viewing (and how a bland snapshot of a plant is a “poem”) — the very antithesis of “a photo is worth a thousand words.”
I am afraid I do not quite share the excitement of the curator (though I did enjoy many of the art works), and if this is your cup of tea, view the interactive display of New Photography 2012.
