I love the idea for this exhibit. It seems to fly in the face of convention and tradition, and directly confronts some issues of digital ephemerality. A bit reminiscent of the We Are All Photographers Now exhibit. This would be well worth experiencing first hand.




ONE HOUR PHOTO
May 8 – June 6, 2010
American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
Washington, DC

Featuring the work of: Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, Megan Cump, Tim Davis, Penelope Umbrico,Ann Woo,Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Brian Ulrich, Lucas Blalock, and Shane Lavalette; among a total of 128 photographers.


One Hour Photo distills the photograph to the ultimate limited edition: 60 minutes. Photographic works by 128 artists will be projected for one hour each, after which they will never be seen again, by anyone, in any form. Each work will exist only in the experience, then memory, of the observers. Participating artists—hailing from 13 countries, ranging from amateur to emerging to established—sign release forms pledging never to reproduce, display, or sell the work they've contributed to the exhibition.

The photographs themselves, through a wide variety of styles and subjects, embody the show’s concept: familiar landmarks and cities dissolve into light, former bastions of capitalism fade slowly into obscurity, figures vanish, confessions and farewells are made, strangers are observed,haunting objects float in urban landscapes, even a vilified ex-Vice President makes a fleeting appearance as an amiable jokester at a black-tie event. Just as powerful as the images is the participation of the audience.

In One Hour Photo, photography’s power to capture a moment, to freeze and frame it, is returned to the experience of viewing itself. The observer becomes the camera, recording the moment on the unreliable format of memory. The project ultimately aims to complicate the myth of photography as preservation, manifest the tension between the permanence of the medium and the impermanence of time, and subvert the profit model of the edition and the print.

Schedule of Exhibited Photographers



Curators:

Adam Good, creator of One Hour Photo, received his BA from American University. A writer, performer, and conceptual artist, Adam has created interactive experiences at the Phillips Collection, the Textile Museum, and Baltimore’s Transmodern festival, and performs regularly in Washington, DC and Baltimore.

Chajana denHarder, co-curator, is an interdisciplinary artist who received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Chandi Kelley, co-curator, received her BFA in photography from the Corcoran College of Art, and is a co-founder of the artwork subscription service Project Dispatch. The creator and curators currently live and work in Washington, DC.

One Hour Photo website