photography is egalitarian.

Photography has become one of my passions in the last few months. I've been immersing myself in Susan Sontag's theoretical perspectives and Walker Evans photos, learning about Henri Cartier-Bresson and feeling a little bit like I understand things better when I see something by Diane Arbus.

So here are two photography exhibits I can't really recommend (because I have yet to go, but you better believe I will get there), but that I do suggest you attend anyway. I will be at the Getty one tomorrow. New York, here I come. All I needed was an excuse.

August Sander: People of the Twentieth Century
at the Getty from now until September 16

I don't know much about August Sander except that he embodies the idealism of early photography. His work promotes the belief that a photograph can teach the viewer about the subject. It's a compelling theory, of course. It's also a powerful theory that most people subscribe to without knowing it. His work is going to contribute in a small part to my thesis about the South and photo-texts of the Great Depression, but only peripherally.



Framing a Century: Master Photographers, 1840-1940
at the Met from June 20 - Sept. 1

This exhibit will explore photography from its rise in the 1840s until the modern developments of the 1940s. The New York Times review argues that the pieces did not begin as art, but they have become of that "caliber." But do we really want to turn what was meant to be documentary into art? I don't know, something irks me about that. It's a little too voyeuristic for my taste. Nonetheless, how often do I get to see Walker Evans' work so close up (okay, yeah, the Getty has an amazing Evans collection, but I can't access it). Plus, the exhibit details the technological advancements in photography over that 100-year span, and technology is completely inextricable from photographic meaning.

Anyway, I'm just really excited.