I apologize! Somehow, with all the shows I’ve seen this summer I forgot to write this one up! I was reading the Washington Post about a blockbuster impressionist show that just opened at the National Gallery of Art and someone commented on the Mary Cassatt exhibit that just closed in Philly.

Hmm, I went to that @#$%$!?

In July, I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see three exhibits … Mary Cassatt at Work, Transformations: American Photographs from the 1970s, and In the Right Place: Photographs by Barbara Crane, Melissa Shook, and Carol Taback.  This triple header, not to mention a wonderful bonus exhibit of Gee’s Bend Quilts alone justified the cost of my annual membership!!!

The main event was the Cassatt show. I’m a sucker for impressionist art and Mary Cassatt is one of my favorites! And I’ve always felt that you can learn a lot about light and composition from paintings … especially so with impressionist works.

To say that Cassatt was an incredibly creative woman would be an understatement, and both she and the work she created were at the forefront of social change. The exhibit included over 130 works of oil and pastel paintings, color prints, prints from black and white ink drawings and etchings, all made on a special printing press. A wonderfully diverse and exciting show to say the least! It travels next the de Young in San Francisco, so you can catch it if you’re on the west coast or to plan to be this fall!

After enjoying Mary Cassatt at Work I moved on to see Transformations: American Photographs from the 1970s. The very diverse exhibit, drawn from the Museum’s collection highlighted a fascinating decade in America’s recent history and a time when photographic art was changing rapidly. The show containing both black and white and color prints made from 35mm, medium format and large format negatives included images by Joel Meyerowitz, Robert Adams, William Wegman, Lee Friedlander and Lucas Samarus. Interesting enough, there were older images printed in the Seventies including Ansel Adams’ Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, 1937 and Timothy H. O’Sullivan’s Shoshone Falls, Snake River, Idaho Territory, 1874 (printed by Chicago Albumen Works).

All in all a great exhibit that showcased just part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s photographic collection!

Last up, Photographs by Barbara Crane, Melissa Shook, and Carol Taback. Following a theme, this all black and white exhibit showcased three photographic series, also made in the Seventies. The three series were made in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, and all were vastly different from each other. I’ll admit I had never heard of these artists before, but I am glad I saw their work!

Barbara Chane’s pictures were taken in front of a doorway to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, all of people entering or leaving the building.  A very simple idea, yet powerful as it produced a body of work that created a real sense of place and time! Melissa Shook’s series was made up entirely of small square jewel-like self-portraits, head shots, nudes, etc. Again, a simple concept, yet effective, giving me an intimate understanding of this person at a particular time in her life.  Finally, Carol Taback’s series included collages made of multiple strips of small images captured in a commercial photo booth located in Philadelphia’s Woolworth’s department store. The pictures included nudes and individual and group portraits. While the vision was more complex, the concept was just as simple and effective as the other two series.

For me, this last exhibit served as a powerful example of what can be accomplished with a clear idea, highly focused vision and great execution. While the individual pictures were not necessarily blockbusters, each series stood as a powerful body of work with its own message. There was much to learn from this exhibit that could be applied to personal projects and I’m glad I was able to see it!

All in all a great outing, full of surprises!

Stay well,

Michael