February 1- April 27, 2014
Philadelphia Museum of Art
"My paintings are done by a filmmaker, sculpture by a musician,films by a painter, music by a filmmaker, paintings by a sculptor, sculpture by a filmmaker, films by a musician, music by a sculptor... sometimes they all work together. Also, many of my paintings have been done by a painter, sculpture by a sculptor, films by a filmmaker, music by a musician".
-Michael Snow (1967)
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| Michael Snow (2014) |
The Philadelphia Museum of Art presents the photographic work of Canadian filmmaker, painter, sculptor,composer, writer, visual artist, & musician Michael Snow (b. 1928), the first United States exhibition of Snow's work in over four decades. This is a brilliantly presented collection of work curated by Adelina Vlas, assistant curator of modern and contemporary art at PMA. This is the first major exhibit curated by Vlas, and it is solid in every way.
If you are not familiar with the photography of Michael Snow, join the club. The only previous exhibition of Snow's work was a 1976 Museum of Modern Art showing of ten pieces in Projects: Michael Snow- Photographs. Despite the fact that Snow's 1967 film Wavelength is often cited as one of the greatest underground and art house films ever made, his work has received almost no critical attention in the United States. Wavelength might be the best place to start if you want to explore Snow's work. It is a 45 minute zoom-in. Excruciatingly structural, with no apparent plot, there is no turning back once you have engaged with this film. See for yourself, love it or hate it...
Several visual elements from Wavelength make appearances in the current PMA exhibit. Snow's first photographic work, Four to Five (1962) consists of 16 silver prints all including the same cardboard silhouette of a walking woman placed in various outdoor environments. Atlantic (1967) is a grid of thirty metallic open ended boxes, each containing a photograph of choppy surface water. If you took the time to watch Wavelength to completion, you will notice the silhouetted walking woman and the water image as the film reaches its final frames.
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| Michael Snow: Photo-Centric Philadelphia Museum of Art |
Virtually every piece in this exhibit engages the viewer. Cerebral and puzzling conceptual work mixes well with lighthearted and outright funny work. Several works require physical movement in order to be fully appreciated. Atlantic (1967) becomes a performing sculpture as the viewer moves about the room. Crouch, Leap, Land (1970) offers up a unique surprise to those willing and able to crouch low enough to peek underneath these hanging images. In Medias Res (1998), among the most enjoyable works in this exhibit, is a floor mounted image that must be walked around to completely appreciate, and Powers of Two (2003) is a large four panel transparency suspended from the ceiling that is meant to be viewed from both sides as a cohesive single image. The exhibit is spaciously displayed with a very contemporary feel. The vibe I got was as if walking into a street level gallery in Chelsea rather than the usual stodginess of a museum.
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| Michael Snow: Photo-Centric Philadelphia Museum of Art |
At a time when major institutions are exploring photography's identity crisis and still (yawn) asking "What is a Photograph?", it is refreshing beyond words to experience first hand the mature confidence of an artist who has quietly engaged in the dialogues of modern and conceptual art, moving 'art' into photography, without the slightest sense of genre specific insecurity. Snow bridges all the gaps, both representational and generational. There is deep wisdom and intelligence to be found in every corner of this show that opens on February 1st and runs until April 27th. I'll go out on a limb and suggest that this is the most important photography exhibit you should see in 2014.
The exhibition catalog is only $20 and is a big help in understanding the context of each piece. Signed copies are available at no extra cost.
