July 2014
Plain Dealer reviews "Unknown"
18/07/14
A captivating exhibition at Transformer Station explores the allure of gazing at strangers
By Steve Litt, Plain Dealer
It's impolite to stare at strangers, for good reason. Prolonged staring can be seen as a sign of aggression, or perhaps unwelcome sexual attention.
Photographers, however, ignore such social norms, and that's a good thing. If they behaved like the rest of us, we wouldn't have exhibitions such as the Transformer Station's excellent new "Unknown: Pictures of Strangers."
The show explores the allure of gazing at people we don't know, or, to put it more precisely, people whom the photographers didn't know when they captured their images.
The exhibition also reveals new facets in the sensibilities of collectors Fred and Laura Bidwell, who own Transformer Station and use it to display works from their personal collection or new works they commission from contemporary artists. Read More...
By Steve Litt, Plain Dealer
It's impolite to stare at strangers, for good reason. Prolonged staring can be seen as a sign of aggression, or perhaps unwelcome sexual attention.
Photographers, however, ignore such social norms, and that's a good thing. If they behaved like the rest of us, we wouldn't have exhibitions such as the Transformer Station's excellent new "Unknown: Pictures of Strangers."
The show explores the allure of gazing at people we don't know, or, to put it more precisely, people whom the photographers didn't know when they captured their images.
The exhibition also reveals new facets in the sensibilities of collectors Fred and Laura Bidwell, who own Transformer Station and use it to display works from their personal collection or new works they commission from contemporary artists. Read More...