AMAM Validates Photography As Art Form

Allen Show Holds The Best of What Has Been

Since the invention of the first photographic process over 150 years ago, photography has been considered a tool of documentation rather than an artistic convention. It wasn't until the last 50 years or so that this medium was recognized as viable artistic process. Last week Framed and Shot: Photographs from the Allen Memorial Art Museum" opened, exhibiting selected pieces from the museum's vast photographic collection, bridging the gap between documentation and art.

"We only started to collect photography in 1970, pretty darn late. We have a great collection of abstract painting but what that suggests is that there is some resistance to it as medium. What I wanted to do was show works of artists that were self-consciously using photography as an artistic medium," said Stephan Jost, curator of Academic Programs and Exhibitions at the AMAM.

If presenting works of artists that pursued photography as a legitmate art form was the goal of the exhibition, then it has done just that. The show featured pieces by several well known artists as Margret Bourke-White, Robert Mapplethorp and a relatively rare portrait by Ansel Adams. But there is more to this show than just the highly collectable names, the real mystique is contained in sevreal 19th century tin-types by unknown photgraphers including an intersting image of an African-American woman with her child.

Framed and Shot: The Allen exhibits works from the museum's permanent collection. (photo courtesy of AMAM)

One of the more engaging and captivating, not to mention preverse, pieces in the collection is Joel Peter Witkins's "Torture of the Pope in Exile," a grotesque yet seductive deptiction of sex and religon. Continuing with a sexually driven theme is Andres Serrano's highly controversial "Untitled VII" from his Ejaculate in Trajectory series, a beautifully done abstract photograph of flying male bodily fluids.

Although the composition of the exhibit is exceptional, the presentation may leave a negative impression on the viewer. Entering the space is much like entering a world of the legally blind, as the light was so dim for fear of damaging the photographs it was almost hard to navigate. Aside from this, the show suffered from a lack of care and attention to the matting and framing of the photographs. This nevertheless stemmed from a problem that plagues most Oberlin programs: lack of funding. The AMAM simply could not afford to replace scratched plexiglass and dirty matt board.

Don't let the poor lighting, lack of space, and small budget act as deterrent. For a museum that has only been collecting photography for 40 years it is amazingly strong and covers nearely 150 years of photography. From the scientific photograph to the artistic vision, Framed and Shot is a winner and will be up in Allen Memorial Art Museum through May 30.