The Santa Barbara Art Museum PORTRAYAL/BETRAYAL Exhibition
On June 2nd, a terrific exhibition opened at the Santa Barbara Art Museum, Portrayal/Betrayal, spotlighting portraits from the permanent collection. I had the great pleasure to spend quality time at the exhibition and enjoyed wandering through the various rooms and stand before over 100 compelling portraits divided into five categories. The exhibition runs through September 16th, and is definitely worth a visit.
Curator Karen Sinsheimer states that “over 250 billion photographs will be made in 2012, and the predominant subject will be ourselves”. It is interesting to consider that we are becoming a population that may take an abundance of photograph portraits, but in reality we are becoming what I call a “looking-down” culture, engaged in our technology almost to the point where we no longer truly look at each other, which make these portraits even more irresistible.
The museum has created additional programing that surrounds the exhibition, one is the creation of a “Twitter” portrait. From July 2 to 13, submit a six-word, self-portrait message via twitter with the hashtag #SBMA6, and the SBMA Teaching Artists will create a sketched “portrait” based on your text. Written and sketched portraits will be featured on the Museum website.
Stumped on what to write? Take cues from authors and entertainers – singer Aimee Mann: “Couldn’t cope so I wrote songs,” comedian Stephen Colbert: “Well, I thought it was funny,” and most famously, Ernest Hemingway: “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
Images from PORTRAYAL/BETRAYAL
ON THE FACE OF IT
The Photography of Family and Friends
Hendrik Kerstens, Paper Roll, 2008
Sally Mann, The Good Father, 1990
WRITTEN ALL OVER ONE’S FACE
The Documentary Portrait
Terrance Reimer, , 2000
Jeff Brouws, Bridget and Denise, Survivors of Hurricane Katrina, Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans, LA 2006
FACE FORWARD
The Untouched Image
Grant Mudford, Paul McCarthy, 1989
Richard Gordon, Untitled, for the series Meta Photographs, 1978
FACE VALUE
Negotiation Between Subject and Photographer
Larry Sultan, Woman in Curlers, 2002
Joyce Tenneson, Suzanne in Contortion, 1990
FACADES
In the Subject’s Space
Joseph Szabo, Priscilla, 1969
Mary Ellen Mark, Tiny, Seattle, 1983
Aline Smithson, Fur, 2005
Joni Sternbach, William (Rincon), 2007
Morrie Camhi, Young Man with Union Brochure from the series Farmworkers, 1972
IN THE FACE OF
Photographic the Other
Keith Carter, Stars, 1996
MAKING FACES
Constructed Portraits
Shirin Neshat, Rebellious Silence, 1994
Lalla Essaydi, Converging Territories #30, 2004
FACE TO FACE
Artist Views Artist
Dan Budnik, Portrait of Jasper Johns at Leo Casteli’s Gallery, 1958
Duane Michaels, Portrait of Magritte, 1965
PRIMAL FACE
Animal Portraits
Mary Frey, Barn Owl, 2008
Don Normak, Pampas Grass and Matching Dog, Phoenix, Arizona, 1974
Larry Ginettino, ScaredRabbit, 1994
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