The New Aesthetic

This weeks Goodness is coming at ya in photo form once again. This time though the Goodness is made up of a handful of artists and one curator that are responsible for one of the most influential photography exhibitions in the history of the medium. The exhibition is called New Topographics and was displayed in 1975 at the George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film. Curated by William Jenkins, the exhibition contained work from Robert Adams, Bearnd and Hilla Becker, Lewis Baltz, Henry Wessel, Frank Gohlke, Stephen Shore, Joe Deal, John Schott and Nicholas Nixon. For me, this exhibition has shaped my vision, approach and style as a photographer and the artists of this collective have influenced my way of thinking more than the majority of work that I have ever viewed or studied.

The original intent of curator Bill Jenkins was to display an exhibition that dealt with architecture. As the gathering of artists and images began, it became apparent that the images weren't just about buildings and structures but also about the land. The concept soon transitioned and what was first going to be called Recent Topographics was now changed to New Topographics.

What's interesting is that the original exhibition didn't see many viewers. In fact very few people visited New Topographics while it was displayed and there is no real reason why this happened. What is incredible is that despite the fact the not many viewers experienced the show, the imagery and artists involved with New Topographics became extremely popular in years to come. Many of the artists made a name in the photography world because of the exhibition. In addition to that, the ideas surrounding the exhibit made an unpredicted impact not only American artists but also artist throughout Europe.

The work in the exhibition doesn't sweep you away by any means. Aside from imagery of Stephen Shore, all of the other images are Black and White. All of the images are carefully composed and just as thought out as most works of art but at first, the images are void of what some call the "wow" factor. To some, they lack the "pop" that is often anticipated or expected in a work of art. This lack of pop lead to a realness that viewers could understand and feel and after spending time with the images you start to "get it." The imagery holds a tempo throughout the each series where in this case the whole is definitely larger than the sum of all its parts. Photography, once having an embellishing affect with idealized visions now seemed to record regular, plain scenes. Telephone polls were kept in the frame. Unfinished housing developments and vacant lots filled the foreground of images. Dull white walls of an office building became the main subject of a photograph. What did all this mean?

New Topographics is the second most googled photography exhibition on the internet behind (this is a guess) Robert Frank's, The American's. New Topographics pushed the envelope for landscape photography and is considered one of the greatest photography exhibitions of all time. It is still to this day studied by artists and art critiques will continue to influence the work of many for years to come.

The Center for Creative Photography (CCP) in Tucson and the George Eastman House have reorganized the exhibition and it is now traveling again. It will be on display at the CCP in Tucson until May 16th then moving onto SFMOMA and various locations throughout Europe. I highly encourage anyone who has ever looked at a photograph to visit this exhibition.