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For
Immediate Release
FACADES: EXPRESSION AND ARCHITECTURE IN AMERICAN SOCIETY
-Henri and Flore Lesieur Pavilion- August 21, 2007 – January 6, 2008 MIAMI BEACH, FL - (August 1, 2007) - In 1981 the Bass Museum of Art acquired several photographic works from Berenice Abbott's New York III portfolio, and over the course of 26 years the museum's collection has expanded to include more than 1,100 photographs. Bringing together formalist, abstract cityscapes and touching portraits, Facades: Expression and Architecture in American Society documents the diverse faces of our nation in the twentieth century. Included in this exhibition are thirty works by artists such as Berenice Abbott, Mitch Epstein, Lewis Hine, Annie Leibovitz, Jerome Liebling, Mary Ellen Mark, Jewel Stern, Andy Sweet and Marcia Walkenstein. Berenice Abbott (1898 – 1991) made her name photographing the intelligentsia in Paris in the 1920s, and had her first solo exhibition there in 1926. Abbott was part of the “straight photography” movement, which stressed the importance of photographs being un-manipulated in both subject matter and developing processes. She continued her portraiture work through the 1930s and was recognized for her ability to transcend the mundane in everyday situations and to evoke compassion on the part of the viewers. Her interest in social documentation influenced generations of photographers, especially aspiring women photographers. In her own words,
Photographer Lewis Hine (1874 -1940) studied sociology at Chicago and New York universities, became a teacher and took up photography as a means of expressing his social concerns. At the beginning of the twentieth century he left his teaching position for a full-time job as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC). Over the next decade, Hine documented child labor in American industry to aid the NCLC’s lobbying efforts to end the practice. He published the first of many photo essays during this period depicting working children at risk, and illustrating the exploitation of American children. In Neil Power, Rome GA, Hine intentionally includes the subject’s full figure in the frame so the viewer can see the subject’s tattered clothing and bare feet that underlines the hardships the boy endured. Mitch Epstein (b.1952), also represented in the exhibition, is recognized for his innate sense of balanced color composition. Using irony and a sense of formal precision, Epstein explores the idea of the American Dream. His work has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, among others. While the architectural photographs in the exhibition glorify architecture and cityscapes, the portraits in “Facades” are less affected by the photographer’s techniques and more affected by the photographer’s choice of subject. Facades: Expression and Architecture in American Society in on view through January 6, 2008. Bass Museum of Art 2121 Park Avenue (in Collins Park), Miami Beach, Florida 33139 T: 305.673.7530 F: 305.674.5475 www.bassmuseum.org General Admission $8 adults, $6 seniors/students. Free, members & children under 6. Group discounts available. Museum Hours and Docent Tours Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-5 pm, Sunday 11 am-5 pm, closed Mondays and holidays. Docent tours every Saturday (except holidays), 2 pm and by appointment. Call 305.673,7530 x1005 to make reservations. Docent tours free with museum admission. Bass Museum Shop An eclectic selection of art, architecture and photography books; folk art from around the world; one-of-a-kind decorative and gift items; jewelry by local and international artisans; postcards; and educational toys. Open during museum hours and opening receptions. Parking Metered parking lot on site. Additional metered parking is available on perimeter streets. The Bass Museum of Art receives both public and private general operating funding. Major support comes from the City of Miami Beach, with the support of the Mayor and Commissioners of the City of Miami Beach and Friends of the Bass Museum, Inc. This project is also supported by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts; and the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program and Cultural Arts Council. |