The main event here was the Arbus photos, touring from the NGA in Canberra, and they were quite wonderful, making me feel many feelings. To me they felt compassionate and specific to their subjects, pulling me in and causing me to smile with something that I'd call recognition, for all that some of the context to them seemed also to raise legitimate questions about exploitation.
And an unexpected pleasure was the inclusion of plenty of photos by other American portraitist types, both influences upon and influenced by Arbus herself, including William Eggleston (whose exhibition last year I so enjoyed), Walker Evans ("Tenant Farmer's Wife, Alabama", 1936 - below), Garry Winogrand ("Los Angeles, California", 1969 - below; and I was also very struck by "World's Fair, New York", 1964), and others.
Also, in the way of things at Heide, a bit of Tucker and Blackman and a bit of Nolan - and, in this case, some contemporary European art, amongst which my favourite was Ugo Rondinone's "The Plain" (2014); also pictured is "zwölfteraugustzweitausendundvierzehn" (2014).
(w/ Angela)
And an unexpected pleasure was the inclusion of plenty of photos by other American portraitist types, both influences upon and influenced by Arbus herself, including William Eggleston (whose exhibition last year I so enjoyed), Walker Evans ("Tenant Farmer's Wife, Alabama", 1936 - below), Garry Winogrand ("Los Angeles, California", 1969 - below; and I was also very struck by "World's Fair, New York", 1964), and others.
Also, in the way of things at Heide, a bit of Tucker and Blackman and a bit of Nolan - and, in this case, some contemporary European art, amongst which my favourite was Ugo Rondinone's "The Plain" (2014); also pictured is "zwölfteraugustzweitausendundvierzehn" (2014).
(w/ Angela)
