Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Photography's remarkable ability to represent the past in the present is frequently invoked as one of the medium's essential characteristics. Yet, as many contemporary photographers acknowledge, its relationship to the past is by no means straightforward. Organized thematically, the exhibition The Memory of Time: Contemporary Photographs at the National Gallery of Art explores the work of contemporary artists who investigate the richness and complexity of photography's relationship to time, memory, and history.



From a shared fascination with photography's past, including early photographic techniques, to creating works which give form to the literal passage of time and the fleeting evidence of cultural change, many contemporary artists are creating works that evocatively engage with how the past has been shaped by photography. The medium has been instrumental in both preserving and creating memory from its inception, and its ability to record the existence of ruins in contemporary society strikingly calls into question what is remembered or forgotten by history. This exhibition and catalog will examine how photographs not only evoke memories of place through the unfolding of different moments of time but also create powerful visual histories of our relationship with the land.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the photography collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and the gallery is celebrating by launching its first exhibition of contemporary photography. This catalog of that exhibition, curated by Greenough (senior curator, head of the dept. of photographs) looks at work by photographers who use the physical materials and conceptual foundations of traditional paper- and chemistry-based photographic methods to explore time, change, memory, and impermanence. To some readers, the art here might veer toward an esoteric conversation among photographers. But as they observe the remarkable images they will be rewarded by intellectually challenging and quite stunning work touching on vexing issues of identity, place, history, and the public and private uses of the past as they intersect with the present. VERDICT Contemporary art enthusiasts will enjoy and be intrigued by this exploration of the history of photography and how these artists find new strategies to produce exquisite images. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Photography's relationship to the reality it depicts has always had the singular power to evoke feelings that might best be characterized by Abraham Lincoln's phrase "the mystic chords of memory." This catalogue for an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, presents 76 pieces by 26 photographers who, between 1990 and the present, produced photographs that draw on that aspect of experience for their emotional and expressive power. The catalogue consists of a "Director's Foreword," by Earl A. Powell III; a general introduction presenting the rationale for the exhibition by head curator Sarah Greenough; and portfolios of the work of each photographer. Each portfolio is headed by a one-page essay on the artist and his or her work and includes an examination of how the work fits within the theme of the show followed by a checklist and selected bibliography. The essays were written by Andrea Nelson, Sarah Kennel, Diane Waggoner, and Leslie J. Ureña. The photographers all made valuable contributions to the current dialogue in creative photography, and their works are all interesting and frequently beautiful. All the texts are thoughtful, intelligent, and well-written; the photographs are beautifully printed and well-presented; and the overall effort is highly professional. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. --William S. Johnson, George Fox University

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Sarah Greenough is the curator of photographs at the National Gallery of Art. She has written many books about photography, including Alfred Stieglitz: Photographs & Writings (NGA 1983), Harry Callahan (Bulfinch 1998), Walker Evans (NGA, 1991), Paul Stand: An American Vision (NGA, 1991), & On the Art of Fixing a Shadow (Bulfinch, 1989).

(Bowker Author Biography)