Fascinating Photos

The first pair photos I looked at were the diptych Maja and Elodie (2003). The photographer, Sharon Lockhart, emphasizes the role of the observer by presenting two nearly identical photographs side by side, inviting viewers to consider not only the imagery at hand but also the pleasure and profundity of the act of looking at it. Drawing upon structural and documentary filmmaking traditions, Lockhart's art strikes a balance between intimacy and objectivity, addressing the nature of self-representation and anthropologic inquiry. The two photographs are of a young woman interacting with Duane Hanson’s sculpture Child with Puzzle (1978). The sculpture depicts Hanson’s daughter Maja sitting on a rug and making a jigsaw puzzle. Lockhart photographed the woman sitting on the rug across from Maja, as if she is solving the puzzle with her. There is an almost imperceptible difference between the two photographs where the woman has moved her hand placing a piece from the puzzle. The title of the second series of photos I examined is On Kawara: Whole and Parts (1964 - 95). These consists of four photographs documenting the rotations of museum security guards during an exhibition of the work of Japanese artist On Kawara in Tokyo. Lockhart records the details of the scenes while subtly alluding to Kawara's similar interest in representing the flow of time in everyday situations. Here is a quote from Sharon Lockhart that I read on the wall right next to her photos at the Museum of Contemporary art. "I have always been influenced by structuralism film in both my film and photographic work. I use the formal durational framework quite a bit. I often set up a structure in which things happen that are uncontrolled by me."



sources
www.mcachicago.org
www.publicartfund.org
www.tate.org