Picturing The South
In an age when it seems everyone thinks they are a photographer, just because they have an app with a few retro filters, it’s important to appreciate and applaud those who truly do have a gift for the craft of combining both art and science. Composition, lighting, framing, exposure, aperture and an enigmatic ability to see the world differently than most – a talented photographer uses these elements to present subtext and perspective in a way we may not have experienced on our own.
Celebrating three such artists and the subject of our distinct region and culture, The High Museum will display Picturing the South, a series of commissioned images by Martin Parr, Kael Alford and Shane Lavalette. On view June 9 – September 2, the 76 new prints capture themes like the relationship of Southern music and the contemporary landscape, Louisiana marshlands impacted by coastal erosion and everyday urban Atlanta settings and people.
Also on view will be the exhibit, Revisiting the South: Richard Misrach’s Cancer Alley, which reconsiders the photographer’s 1998 focus on the ecological deterioration of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Misrach returned to the area in 2010 to expand the project and the result is a collection of 21 large-scale prints that will be on display June 2 – October 14.
Picturing the South will be showcased alongside Picturing New York, 150 photographs on loan from The Museum of Modern Art.
Photo: “Will with Banjo” by Shane Lavalette
