LL4_GalleryReview_Wilbert

LL4_Wilbert

In the morning of October 6, 13 my photography class met each other by Pace Gallery in Chelsea. We would spend the rest of that morning exploring nearby galleries of new and upcoming work from trending photographers as well as admiring the goodies from the well-known artists.

Starting with the Irving Penn: On Assignment, this gallery felt quite different to the others. It showcased the six-decade career of how Penn revolutionized the fashion industry through photography making the (VAGUE) magazine one the most profound way’s of indulging in media. Most of the images are tense with color being a non-factor for his work.  The use of lighting and correct eye-coordination use with the composition makes Penn’s photos much more dynamic and intriguing. The fashion was the aspiration for every shot but you couldn’t help but sense a misconnected feeling through every subject.

Moving forward, the next gallery that attracted my attention was featured in the Steven Kasher gallery. Featuring the works by Max Kozloff, “New York Over the Top” takes a good look into 35 years of photography of the “Big Apple”. Every print features color and shots date back from the 80’s to the 00’s containing many events in between.  He believed that people had a major presence within each other.  The way Kozloff went about capturing social interactions and the undeniable sorrow that came from New Yorkers many struggles gives a new breath of realism and vulnerability for both the photographer and viewer.

Concluding with my favorite of all galleries, it had to Nick Brandt’s “Across The Ravaged Land” that interested me the most. From the tint of the gritty colors, to the savage men who stood by the fallen tusks of downed elephants, to the individual hairs standing off the lion’s body, every photo felt in sync. Life and death played a big part of the gallery and ideas spark off every square inch. After discussing with our class on how Brandt was able to get so many close up shots, we concluded that he indeed take his time to instill that he was a not a threat to the animals and was comfortable shooting freely. That type of persistence is admirable and something I look forward on working on the next I shoot. Variety describes this gallery as a whole.  The different depths of field and interesting compositions fueled the ingenuity of this project.