This week, GBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen brings us American photographs by Robert Frank, Wampanoag art from Elizabeth James Perry, and a new book cataloging the photographic history of men in love.
“Robert Frank: The Americans,”on view at the Addison Gallery of American Art through April 11, 2021
Between 1955 and 1956, Swiss photographer Robert Frank journeyed across the United States to create a “visual study of a civilization” in his adopted country. Supported with a Guggenheim Fellowship, he took some 27,000 photographs and whittled them down to 83 to create "The Americans," a hallmark photobook. From bustling cities and cocktail parties to segregation and car accidents, Frank’s dark, grainy and often blurred images take an unvarnished look at the changing cultural landscape of 1950s America. The Addison Gallery of American Art is one of only four museums in the world to own the complete set of images from "The Americans."
“We’re looking through the eyes of somebody who is detached but fascinated, and shows us things we either no longer see… or maybe things we don't want to see,” says curator and Interim Director of the Addison Gallery of American Art, Allison Kemmerer. “The discrimination, the racism… all of that lay beneath the surface of happy, 1950s America.”
“Ripples: Through A Wampanoag Lens,” on view at the New Bedford Whaling Museum
The New Bedford Whaling Museum presents a collection of contemporary art from Elizabeth James Perry. A local Wampanoag artist, Perry works primarily with Quahog shells to create handmade pieces including belts, earrings, necklaces and more. The artist sources her materials from New Bedford to Martha’s Vineyard, using techniques passed down through her family to both practice the craftsmanship of her ancestors and honor the challenges they have endured throughout history.
“The first thing that sort of knocked me over was the amount of time and effort she puts into each piece,” says curator Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes. “She might have a wampum belt with 300 individual pieces… it's really, really painstaking work, but something that she loves.”
“Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s-1950s,” a new photography book available now
When the couple behind “Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s-1950s” first came across photos of what they perceived to be men in love from the Civil War era, they assumed it was a rarity. But now after years of collecting around the world, Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell have amassed thousands of images depicting romantic love throughout a century-and-a-half when such partnerships were forbidden or outright illegal. The photographs were discovered everywhere, from flea markets and shoe boxes to auctions and online archives. The images, the collectors point out, have familiar visual threads evidenced in romantic gazes, warm embraces, and the unmistakable body language that can only be demonstrated by two people in love.
“When I first learned about this I thought, ‘how is this possible?’” says Jared, who admits he was a bit skeptical at first. “But when you go through the book and you start to look at these photographs you just know it… look in the eyes and you can see the love.”
How is art helping you through the change in seasons? Tell Jared about it on Facebook or Twitter!
