Intimacies, 2011 (installation view).
Left: Michael Sirianni, CTRL, 2011, video, 18:00 min. Center left: Michael Sirianni, CTRL, 2011, inkjet prints, 23 1/4 x 31 in. each. Center right: Elijah Burgher, Untitled (sigil created for ritual action undertaken on May 25, 2011), 2011, acrylic on canvas, 84 x 64 in. Right: Laurel Nakadate, Good Morning Sunshine, 2009, HD video, 26:33 min.
Intimacies
Curated by John Neff and Lorelei StewartArtists: Elijah Burgher/Tom Daws, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Desirée Holman, Leigh Ledare, Laurel Nakadate, and Michael Sirianni
In the six artists’ works in Intimacies the camera is an active agent in the creation of social events, not just a recording instrument in the hands of an autonomous documentarian. The primarily photographic and video works, some of which include painting and sculptural elements, focus on charged interpersonal encounters. Beyond serving as indices of such encounters, the included artworks reveal the reconfigured effects of such exchanges, disclosing the complexity of authorship, agency, and viewership in today’s world.
To contextualize the contemporary works within the heritage of the camera as a social mechanism, the exhibition is accompanied by photographs by Sally Mann, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Nicholas Nixon, and Carrie Mae Weems. Supplementary material for and by the UIC graduate seminar led by John Neff (also titled "Intimacies") is available in the same companion room.