May 1 – June 14, 2009
2009 CONTACT Photography Festival
It is the advent of the photograph… which divides the history of the world.
— Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida
Photography engendered awe and trepidation in 1839 when the daguerreotype, an image produced on a chemically treated silver plate, astonished the public with its veracity and power to arrest time. Before long, an obsession to possess photographic images that could be held in the palm of one’s hand swept through society. Since then, each significant innovation in photography’s evolution has radically altered the creation and consumption of images, irrevocably changing the history of visual representation.
Today, the proliferation of photographic technologies is laden with infinite possibilities for image production, reflecting our rapidly changing world and burgeoning global culture. Meanwhile, historical precedents in the medium continue to extend substantial influence. Still Revolution: Suspended in Time looks back to the revolutionary foundations of photography to explore the current innovations that continue to transform the medium. The exhibition presents eight Canadian and international artists whose photographs mirror a complex history marked by pervasive change. From documentary to abstraction, choreographed fact to constructed fiction, the works in this exhibition implicate photography’s catalytic role in social and political change. Suspending transitory moments in time, the evolving manifestations of photographic imagery overwhelmingly influence the way that we see the world today.
Barbara Astman, Walead Beshty, Mat Collishaw, Stan Douglas, Idris Khan, Trevor Paglen, Martha Rosler, Mikhael Subotzky
Curated by David Liss and Bonnie Rubenstein
Photo Gallery
Opening Reception
Friday May 1, 7 – 10 pm
Partners
Official Exhibition Sponsor:
The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art is an institutional member of the Ontario Museum Association and is proud to participate in the 10th edition of May is Museum Month.
