WELLNESS: Annie Leibovitz, (American, born 1949); Rebecca Denison, Founder of WORLD (Women Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Diseases), 1993; Color C print; Courtesy of the Artist
The Art of Caring: A Look at Life through Photography
May 16 – October 11, 2009
The Art of Caring: A Look at Life through Photography comprises seven thematic components: Children and Family, Love, Wellness, Disaster, Caregiving and Healing, Aging, and Remembering. Through photography and film, this thought- and emotion-provoking exhibition provides a visual discourse on how key life events are celebrated and honored, and how pivotal life decisions are made by a number of different cultures. Each stage of life is depicted by simple everyday situations experienced in moments of joy and gratification as well as by poignant events of passage. The unfathomable scale of devastation inflicted upon humanity and our environment by both man-made and natural disasters also is intrinsic to this life story.
The selection of the more than two hundred photographs in this exhibition took shape like a complex and carefully composed mosaic in which the distinct fragments represent mothers, fathers, children, caregivers, first responders, and others from around the globe. For the viewer, encountering these photos on the walls of this exhibition is somewhat like taking a walk on a busy street in any one of a number of major metropolitan cities, where who or what you see is often a surprise impossible to plan for or predict, much like the cycle of our own respective lives.
The exhibition begins with a group of images by the world-renowned artist Annie Leibovitz, who made a special selection from her vast archive that reflects all seven themes. These images provide a concise introduction to the entire exhibition. The Art of Caring showcases several works from Time & LIFE Pictures, including recognizable classics by such legendary photographers as Alfred Eisenstaedt and W. Eugene Smith. Contemporary artists include other established photographers such as Tina Barney, Nan Goldin, Chester Higgins, Sally Mann, Nicholas Nixon, Tatsumi Orimoto, Robert Polidori, Dona Schwartz, Neal Slavin and Larry Sultan. The exhibition features as well the work of emerging artists Elinor Carucci, Jeff Charbonneau, Eliza French, Peter Granser, Jessica Todd Harper and Misty Keasler.
For more information about the exhibition and additional events scheduled with the exhibit go to http://www.noma.org/exhibitions.html