Wayne State University
Elaine L. Jacob Gallery

480 W. Hancock
Detroit, MI 48202

313-993-7813
www.art.wayne.edu

Tues-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 11am-5pm.
September 20 – November 9.


In another time the photographs on display in EXPOSURE! might have been shocking. In an age where images far more graphic are a click away on the internet, these images serve a different purpose. They prompt the question, “Why are we compelled to look?” Is it a longing for something else, a life not our own, or is it simple curiosity, like gawkers at an accident?


Whatever the case, by posing these questions in an art gallery, titillation ceases and a different conversation can unfold. More than that, these photographers are not merely peeking toms, but skilled, thoughtful artists. Their respect for their craft, raises the old question, can we value a picture solely for its composition aside from content, or does the content overwhelm the image’s artistic merit?


No stranger to controversy photographer Renee Cox was embroiled in a censorship dispute over her work in the Brooklyn museum. Her work seeks to construct a dialogue over notions of race, gender and religion. To do so she often uses her own body to challenge her viewers. This show is no exception. She displays an enormous view of her crotch on a yellow background, wearing a white “Fur” thong. She also juxtaposes old photos of her family looking and laughing in the direction of a newer photo of Cox in a revealing position. By photographing herself, it would seem this should be labeled exhibitionism rather than voyeurism. Cox is a ceaseless self-promoter and knowing that people are looking helps her get her message out.


Also on display is the work of Steven Barker. His photos reveal intimate moments between gay men at a New York sex club all the while being observed by a third party that the camera has captured. The unique, strong compositions draw us, the fourth viewer into the picture.


Bill Jacobson captures an ethereal moment with his subject. His photos are blurred, nearly abstract images of a person (the sex is impossible to tell) that convey the sense of memory of loss.


As far as being watched goes, Francesca Woodman photographed herself crouched, and trapped on display in a glass box. She wants to leap free, escape the viewers gaze but remains confined. (From the guide we learn that whatever Woodman was trying to escape, she finally did with an act of defenestration at merely 22.) Unlike Cox’s work, there is no sense of exhibitionism here, merely the practicality and necessity of using one’s own body to create the feeling that needs to be released.


A configuration of Merry Alpern’s “Dirty Windows” series provides views of a bathroom in a hotel used for prostitution on Wall Street. The work is framed starkly by the frame of the window she is shooting into. This is voyeurism in the fact that her subjects are completely unaware of her presence. Her interest though lies not in revealing the parties caught on film, but the actions and the motivations behind them.


Nichlas Barker presents stills from his movie “Unmade Beds” which reveals the intimate moments of couples in upper floor apartments. Perhaps this piece reveals something about the rest. It is true that we watch out of depravity. It is also true we watch to see how others live. We watch to see that we’re not alone in the frailty of our humanness. By revealing people in their most private moments, EXPOSURE! lays bare something we would rather keep hidden.