The Arts in New York City

Stepping in the twenty-first century, photographs are no longer the way they were—unchangeable, solid, static— they have been redefined as they meet the waves of technology, infusion of new techniques, and the shifting angles of artists. Taking the opportunity to see images of the new age of photography, I visited MoMA to “ New Photography 2007: Tanyth Berkeley, Scott McFarland, Berni Searle”, organized by the Department of Photography at MoMA, on Saturday, November 24th.This exhibition includes works of three different contemporary artists: Tanyth Berkeley from United States, Scott McFarland from Canada, and Berni Searle from South Africa; the exhibition displays a different element of modern photography in each of the photographer’s works. The photographs are mainly pigmented inkjet prints.

The works of Tanyth Berkeley, the American photographer includes a series of life-sized photographs of different women. To bring the focus of the viewers to each individual, these photographs are printed as tall as the substantive individuals; the title of each photograph derives from the name of the sitter, for instance: “Grace”, “Ariel”, and “Linda Leven”, etc. Berkeley chose to take pictures of these women who she met at the subway stations, or people she knows and has a deep connection with. The identities of these women vary from street performer, dancer and actress to transgender woman. However, they all share one thing in common: eccentric looks. At first glance, I was even startled by these bizarre faces—extremely pale skin, inconspicuous eyebrows, plump figures, misaligned eyes. The eccentricity of their faces is so compelling that viewers cannot just pass by the portraits without pausing for a minute or two to peruse the women in these photographs. These women, although have extraordinary features, are not seen as distinctive beauties by mainstream standard. They are neglected because their “beauty” is not the same as the by-default “beauty” cherished by commercialism. Society is dogmatic; people believe that beauty is what you see in the women on magazine covers and advertisements. Berkeley, through the photographs she has taken, challenges the worldwide standard of beauty and conveys the message that beauty does not necessarily need to be found in what the world unanimously agree on, or preset; rather, beauty can be found outside of normality. While taking the photographs, Berkeley asked each individual to pose or gesture elegantly, or to hold a bouquet, in order to highlight their femininity. Her instructing the sitters to pose involves communication between the sitter and the photographer; therefore her photographs also contain strings of theatrical elements.

The Canadian photographer, Scott McFarland on the other hand, overrides the presumption that photograph is incapable of capturing moments beyond a brief period of time. He found a way to extend the period of time in his photographs of a botanical garden, titled “Orchard View with the Effects of Seasons”. What McFarland did was that he took photographs of the same garden, one in each season. Then he weaved these photographs together remarkably by digital means and produced an image of the garden in all four seasons. Although this is, technically, impossible with camera, McFarland utilized this technique and created a few photographs that have also been digitally manipulated. These photographs were well put together, and therefore were natural to the eyes of the viewers and suggested the least of digital intervention. Personally, I do not totally reject his photography but I do not like the idea of manipulating photographs. Photographs are supposed to mirror the actual objects, authentically. Perhaps photographers today see digitally manipulated photographs as a trend of the new photography, but I see it only as a lower form of art, one that requires not much taste or effort on the artist’s part.

Berni Searle is a South African artist whose works are heavily influenced by her own personal experience and memory. One of the works that I was drawn most toward to was a series of photographs of Searle’s family. Searle cut out the shape of the silhouette of her family on a red crepe paper, in a series of snapshots of family outings. Then, she sank the cut-out in a basin filled with water. The red pigment of the crepe paper was oozed out as the water diffuses into the crepe paper. The figures of family members lost their shapes after being washed and washed by water. Searle named this series of photograph as “About to Forget” to refer to the diluted memory and fading family ties among a family that is once so intimate. Using such technique, Searle narrated the story of her family breakup and the nostalgic feelings she kept to herself about such a painful loss. Looking at the blurry, orange-red photographs, I feel a sense of pathos toward her. As frequent as family falling apart has become, Searle tells a sad story that, unfortunately, a lot of people have also experienced.

After visiting this exhibition, I truly feel that a new era of photography has embarked; different approach of picture-taking, subject being presented and new effects are the hints. These three photographers offer viewers a glimpse of what new photography acquires and loses. Old values are torn down as new values are built. Tanyth Berkeley challenges the worldview of beauty through the lens, Scott McFarland goes beyond the limits of photographs that are imposed by time and space, and Berni Searle employs new techniques to narrate a story of loss in her photographs. This exhibition provides me with new insights and a stronger understanding in the changing field of photography.