by The stunning collection of photographic art presented in Expanding the Lens at the Carnegie Museum of Art is a major review of the long tradition of landscape photography in the US. It could be a straightforward revision – as in AK Burns’ rearrangement of landscape photographs literally ripped from photo books – or it could be much more heated, as in Sam Contis’ careful discussions on the iconography of the American West. However, this is very much a show about counter-narratives, about hidden histories, retellings, rearrangements and revisions.
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Keen to reflect on how our relationship with images has changed as photography becomes more ubiquitous and prolific, Extending the Lens looks at photographs as singular objects as well as pieces integrated into larger objects. It’s a show that tries to be responsive to how the lines between photography and other artistic media have become blurred, and one that tries to imagine what environmental photography looks like now.
It is appropriate for this long view of imagery and landscape to group Widening the Lens into four main lines: colonial legacies, landscape as a site of remembrance, human adaptability and mobility, and environmental concerns. These themes take us tentatively through the past, present and future, and provide useful ways of drawing interconnections between the sometimes cacophonous array of artworks brought together for the exhibition. this. “We’re trying to tell these stories that happened in history,” said Dan Leers, exhibit curator, “but we’re also hoping to have some lessons that could be passed on to humanity.”
Examining Xaviera Simmons’ Sundown series, named for so-called sun towns, which become extremely unsafe for African Americans after dark, one finds self-portraits in which the artist inhabits careful tableaus of the elements of his native landscape in which black people were exploited. In each one, she holds different images towards the camera, inviting us to imagine how the imagined history of the United States has shaped the identity of her subjects. One such image reads: “The myth of the American Frontier still creates US racial divisions,” suggesting that the deep history of the American landscape and its expression are still very much alive in contemporary conflicts over inequality.
One notable collection from the show are photographs taken from Justine Kurland’s now 20-year-old Girl Pictures series. In this episode, Kurland imagines a world where teenage girls are in a pile where her protagonists are seen boldly traversing different natural landscapes, from desert to border zones on the edges of urban areas. It is a story about how these girls could carry the land in a world that is much different and much safer for them to grow up in.
“It’s not a documentary, it’s not a reenactment, it’s about using photography to build a world that seemed fairer and more just,” Kurland told me. She shared that part of the drive to create Girl Pictures came out of the problematic history of landscape photography, where the camera – most often my male photographer – was used to dominate and dominate. In contrast. Her aim was to create a landscape where the girls could not be seen settling into, but rather a landscape where the landscape was against them, offering a sense of interdependence.
The photographs in Girl Pictures are striking at first for the simple beauty that Kurland finds in the landscapes; her iconography comes across in a gentle and intimate way, these places appearing more in small chunks where the girls can find moments of refuge, connection, strength and play. The forest, in particular, with the two large trees that frame the image, which offer a place of rest and connection for the girls, and with the light layers of light flowing into the depth of the background, creates a feeling of peace and harmony. highly recommending the holding that Kurland needs to make its landscapes.
“Although Kurland’s images are some of the earliest photographs in the show,” Leers told me, “these photographs feel so immediate and contemporary in many ways. They don’t matter in a world of strong, independent young women. It’s very exciting.” The selections from Girl Pictures are easily one of the most impressive groups from Widening the Lens, and are in themselves a compelling reason to see this exhibition.
Lucy Raven’s silhouette, made by objects filled with magnesium, aluminum and gravel on pieces of photosensitive paper, is shot as mysterious and opaque. (It was probably not lost on Raven that silhouettes were used to promote weapons and flight technologies, two key components to the conquest of the west.) These pieces are a very different take on the photographic medium, one that challenges thought. of representation itself, and which pushes the Widening of the Lens into very different territory.
Another feature of Widening the Lens is the six-part podcast that will be released alongside it. Based on themes such as myth-making, mastery and impressionism, the podcast welcomes guests including artists, curators, geologists, filmmakers, writers, poets and more. Hosted by tennis great Venus Williams, who Leers explained was chosen after a long search for the perfect person to partner with. “We wanted someone with a wider range,” he said. “In a conversation with Williams and her team, we realized that she is very involved in the world of contemporary arts. She is very engaged in thinking about the role of the arts.”
The podcast is part of a wider ambition undertaken by the Carnegie Museum of Art to engage with audiences who may never make it through the museum’s doors to experience Widening the Lens in person. According to Leers, these goals were motivated by the period of disconnection during the Covid shutdown. “We need to be more responsive in meeting our audience where they are,” he said. “We want to give everyone a chance to try and tackle all of our projects.”
Extending the Lens is a very multifaceted work, almost imbuing the show with an “everything but the kitchen sink” feel, and its potential and openness feel very fitting for a show trying to reexamine the rules for the American landscape. . It is also a big question to think about how our past, longer and later, will continue to develop in the future. Leers hopes that anyone who visits Widening the Lens will take some time to consider the question of impact, and that will inform their future actions. “I hope viewers will think for even an extra second about how their actions today will affect my environment now and in the future,” Leers said. “I hope they realize that those impacts can magnify, expand and resonate in the future.”
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Widening the Lens: Photography, Ecology, and the Contemporary Landscape is on display at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pennsylvania now through January 12, 2025
