As an artist and educator, I found the exhibitions incredibly thought provoking. Both of the exhibitions really express two different places and times in the history of Photojournalism. "The Mexican Suitcase" traces the Spanish Civil War through photographs of Republican armies and civilians who were devastated by their impoverished and war torn environments, and "Cuba in Revolution" traces (if the name doesn't give it away) the Revolution in Cuba, specifically through iconic and "candid" photographs of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. If the images were not of Che or Fidel, they were of people working directly for them.
"The Mexican Suitcase" was my favorite of the two shows on view at the museum. The shear history of the negatives is fascinating. The negatives were lost from 1939 until the late 90's, and finally just got back to ICP in December of 2007. Th main photographer displayed in the negatives is Robert Capa, brother to Cornel Capa, founder of ICP. The other two photographers in the exhibit are Chim and Taro.
I think what ultimately made me a HUGE fan of "The Mexican Suitcase" is that each of the photographer's contact sheets are on view, therefore allowing the viewers to see the photographer's process. By seeing the contact sheets, the photographer's style of working, process, and creation becomes apparent. You can trace similarities in angles, the staging of images, technical difficulties, etc. Another interesting tidbit about this exhibit is that the images and contact sheets are displayed along side international magazines where the photographer's images were exhibited. It's interesting to see how the images were used for propaganda.
The whole notion of the negatives and contact sheets being on display is brilliant to me. I know it wasn't the artists' choice, as all three of them have unfortunately passed. But wouldn't it be cool if it was? I think being completely transparent about the way you work as an artist presents a unique way to exhibit the final products that you have created. It is my ultimate goal to create a photographic series tracing a production from it's incarnation through each of its performances. I want this series to be shown in conjunction with the "final product" of the show. The educator and collaborator in me values the process of creating a show as equally as important as the final product. So why now show the process also?
I hope to continue building this little seed of an idea. The Process Product. I am working on a "Taming of the Shrew" project with colleagues form NYU. I am hoping to begin building this idea with this project. I am going to reflect on this process regularly. I hope to have some exciting incites.
For now, I am getting tired, and my smart juices are fading fast. Until another day....
