Press Release - December 18, 2006 - Backs of photographs Exhibited
Chandra Meesig's backs of photographs Exhibited at Brookline Arts Center Gallery in February
The art of photography helps us to see the details of our world that we have never noticed before. The February gallery exhibition by Chandra Meesig at the Brookline Arts Center features very minimalist photos blown up large, which allows the viewer to enjoy the subtle color washes in large scale, an unusual approach for the medium of photography.
In these works, a series entitled backs of photographs, Meesig is asserting the artist's prerogative to hide information from her viewer. In this case, only Meesig knows what her original photo source looked like. The photographs on view at the Brookline Arts Center from February 9 to March 24, 2007 are large, close up photos showing the backs of old photographs. The washes of color are created by chemicals seeping through the paper from the front of the photograph. In this series, Meesig presents hints and traces of the original pictures, by telling us the name of the person shown in the original photo, and by using a medium-format camera that documents every visual detail.
These are puzzling works that contain varied layers of suggestion and meaning within their beautiful, subtle surfaces, says Brookline Arts Center curator Susan Navarre. They are unlike anything we have shown before in our gallery, and I think they will inspire discussion -- maybe even controversy -- among our students and visitors.
A recent graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Chandra Meesig has recently exhibited her works in Lithuania, Poland, Athens, New Mexico, Seattle, and Worcester. In 2006, she received an honorable mention in the Pilsner Urquell International Photography Award competition.
Exhibition hours are Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. The Brookline Arts Center is located at 86 Monmouth Street in Brookline, one block from the St. Mary's stop on the MBTA Green line. For more information, call 617-566-5715 or visit www.brooklineartscenter.com.
The programs of the Brookline Arts Center are supported in part by the Brookline Commission for the Arts, a local agency funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. The Brookline Arts Center is also funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and the Brookline Community Foundation.
For more information, visit www.brooklineartscenter.com or email bac@brooklineartscenter.com.