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SFMOMA Artists Gallery, Building A
“Photography 2005” is SFMOMA Artists Gallery’s
latest semiannual survey of work by photographers from the
Bay Area. The exhibit features images from 23 artists, reflecting
the diversity and innovation characteristic of Northern California
photography.
Photographs in color and black and white focus on subjects
such as vanishing landscapes and sacred environments. Other
photographers document inner journeys that lead to spiritual
or psychological revelations.
Michelle McCarron has work in “Photography 2005.”
She has traveled a great deal, gradually migrating from Ireland
and Europe to San Francisco. Her moody pastel photographs
reflect elusive memories of people and places.
“My photographs are my life’s diary,” Michelle
McCarron wrote in her web site bio at www.michellemccarron.com.
“My camera became my way of recording my journey through
life.”
Mark
Luthringer’s crisp, more formally composed black
and white and color images present depopulated scenes and
isolated artifacts of civilization. Fading theater marquees,
dusty neon signs, and abandoned storefronts are among Luthringer's
many subjects. For this exhibit, Luthringer explores advertising
and what he calls “the meaningless freedom of our current
age of consumption.”
Nature and wilderness inspire the work of Pamela
Cobb and Beth
Moon. Cobb recently released a series of empty, almost
abstract Western vistas. Her stark landscapes offer dramatic
horizons and landforms, but very little life. Beth Moon investigates
other monumental aspects of nature in “Portraits of Time,”
a platinum-toned series of ancient, gnarled trees printed
on watercolor paper.
Other artists in the show turn their lenses to dream-like
interactions and fantastic places. Cara
Judea Alhadeff records human gestures and postures in
surreal settings. Rather than be distracted by the more flamboyant
aspects of Burning Man, A.
Leo Nash photographs site-specific art installed in austere
desert locales for the annual celebration.
– Claudia Willen
Photo: “Gelli Aur Western Red Cedar” by Beth Moon
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