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June 22, 2006
Photo in The Southland
Multiple Exposures: Highlights from CSULB Special Collections - Totally work a look. In the main has a few Sternfeld's from “American Prospects” and two Porters from Iceland. There's a mix of the usual suspects of 20th c landscape and photo doc. but the cool part of the show are two smaller rooms showcasing New Topographics style photo - straight from the LBC. My faves: 4 Joe Deal's architectural views and a few Anthony Hernandez images of folks waiting for the bus. Very cool.
Catherine Opie at OCMA - Nice to see the freeways and the mini-malls again but somehow the show didn't quite add up for me. Kind of like the Simpson retrospective at MOCA. I found myself longing for works that weren't there and vaguely dissatisfied with the ones that were. I have been a fan of Opie for a while but somehow seeing the work in this particular show, I was constantly reminded of the work of other photographers instead of seeing what made her vision unique.. I think her portraits are amazing, but you won’t find them in the OC.
"1999" and "In and Around Home" (2005)... just didn't do it for me. Listening to Opie talk about the work via the gallery ipod was way more interesting than actually seeing it on the walls. Interspersing Polaroids of talking heads from the evening news with big color prints of her West Adams neighborhood?... I don't know, maybe I need to go see it again. The show starts off with work from her MFA thesis project "Master Plan"(1986-88) and ends with "Surfurs" (2004), but don't expect to see those gorgeous early color portraits or the family series. And you won't get any of her panoramas of eastern cities either. This show is about LA/Southern California; home to surfurs, strip malls, self-indulgent domestic architecture (aka Beverly Hills) and Opie herself.
I was hoping to make it down to The Office but traffic was terrible. Maybe next week...
Check out Tyler Green's story on Opie for BlackBook.
Posted by lk at June 22, 2006 07:21 PM