Exhibition Review
The name of the gallery I went to was called the "International Center of Photography Museum." The exhibition that I viewed was Eugene Richards, "The Run-On of Time."
The image that stood out to me the most was the one was captioned, "Midnight, West Memphis, Arkansas, 1972." This black and white picture conveyed a black women smoking a cigarette in what appears to be a small bar. There's an ash tray and beer on the table and a man behind her is wearing a snap back hat unfazed and not looking at the camera. I could feel some of the struggles that the women was revealing in her expression. I could see that this was how and where they would release their stress and anguish of living in a world of poverty and racism. What made this photograph stand out to me was how much I felt when I saw it, although it wasn't the most disturbing or emotional picture in the exhibition, it was the most natural to me. It portrayed how life went on despite all the hurt and people found their release. It fits in well to the exhibition because it contrasts the pain and reality the people were feeling.
The venue was very clean and modern. I walked in and there was different sections of the gallery, each section had an orange heading on one of the walls describing the pictures displayed in that section. Majority of the pictures were black and white so the orange headings grab attention.
The photographs focused on birth, death, mental health, poverty, prejudice, war, and terrorism. Richards illuminated these aspects of American society that are often easily ignored. He devoted fifty years to exploring profound aspects of human experience. Richards' style is said to be unflinching yet poetic. He confronts difficult subjects through his work of photographs, moving image works and writing. Majority of his pictures as a group are in black and white"I couldn’t get over the fact that in the daytime, we’d watch people literally starving and then at night in the hotel we’d eat a French meal—with wine. I couldn’t take it.
"You have limited time. You meet people, and sometimes you resist liking them or even understanding them. Understanding them is harder than liking them. Once you understand them, you realize quite honestly that your pictures aren’t quite sufficient and once you understand that your pictures aren’t quite sufficient, then it’s time to leave."
The photographs focused on birth, death, mental health, poverty, prejudice, war, and terrorism. Richards illuminated these aspects of American society that are often easily ignored. He devoted fifty years to exploring profound aspects of human experience. Richards' style is said to be unflinching yet poetic. He confronts difficult subjects through his work of photographs, moving image works and writing. Majority of his pictures as a group are in black and white"I couldn’t get over the fact that in the daytime, we’d watch people literally starving and then at night in the hotel we’d eat a French meal—with wine. I couldn’t take it.
"You have limited time. You meet people, and sometimes you resist liking them or even understanding them. Understanding them is harder than liking them. Once you understand them, you realize quite honestly that your pictures aren’t quite sufficient and once you understand that your pictures aren’t quite sufficient, then it’s time to leave."
According to Richards, “The responsibility of the photographer is to respect people while—most importantly—using your skills to reveal something true about their lives and their humanity.” The exhibition starts with his social documentary work from the Arkansas Delta in the 1960s, and incorporates images from select magazine assignments and from the 14 books he has published, including Cocaine True Cocaine Blue (1994), a searing look at people caught up in the crack epidemic, and War Is Personal (2010), about veterans and their families affected by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Richard's work differs from most other photographers because he incorporates his own personal life in his work. In one of his works, he titled one section of the exhibition, "A Personal Vision" where he and his wife returned to his childhood neighborhood in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He photographed the working class neighborhood, and his wife's journey through breast cancer. Richards photographs her with "unflinching intimacy." This sets Richards apart from most photographers who often stay away from photographing the hardships in their own personnel lives.
The image that stood out to me the most was the one was captioned, "Midnight, West Memphis, Arkansas, 1972." This black and white picture conveyed a black women smoking a cigarette in what appears to be a small bar. There's an ash tray and beer on the table and a man behind her is wearing a snap back hat unfazed and not looking at the camera. I could feel some of the struggles that the women was revealing in her expression. I could see that this was how and where they would release their stress and anguish of living in a world of poverty and racism. What made this photograph stand out to me was how much I felt when I saw it, although it wasn't the most disturbing or emotional picture in the exhibition, it was the most natural to me. It portrayed how life went on despite all the hurt and people found their release. It fits in well to the exhibition because it contrasts the pain and reality the people were feeling.
Richards also had a short film displayed in a small room of the pictures he photographed with his narration in the background explaining the stories behind the photographs. This really helped me understand his work more because his reasonings behind certain shots became clearer and it wrapped the show up in a beautiful way. In the short film he shares the story behind each picture. He also recalls conversations with the people he was photographing and explains how difficult it was to leave them. In a interview about his work in Beirut he says,
Overall I very much enjoyed the show. There were so many important issues discussed through Richards' photographs. The pictures he took looked so natural and effortless that the emotions of the people he photographed I could feel in a way. I think Richards wanted that, he wanted his viewers to not only see but feel the reality of the people and the struggles they were facing. I would definitely want to see more work by Richards.
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