American Social Commentary Photography

American Social Commentary Photography

Online information about American photography from sources other than Resource Library

(above: Timothy H. O'Sullivan, Burial place, Fredericksburg, VA, between circa 1860 and circa 1865, National Archives at College Park. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*)

All About America: Photographs by Burk Uzzle is a 2016 exhibit at the Ackland Art Museum which says: "This exhibition of 42 works traces the distinguished career of photographer Burk Uzzle and his observation of American society, from the turbulent politics and countercultural revolution of the 1960s to the present. All About America represents five decades of photographs by this North Carolina native, from iconic photos of Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral, the Woodstock music festival, and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations to his later study of the social landscape of America from coast to coast." Accessed 2/17

A Time to Break Silence: Pictures of Social Change is a 2017 exhibit at the Michener (James A.) Art Museum which says: "The show includes photographs from Edmund Eckstein's celebrated Coming of Rage series and New Hope photographer Jack Rosen's images of a changing society in southeastern Pennsylvania as well as numerous other works from contemporary artists Tim Portlock and Justyna Badach documenting volatile social environments." Accessed 11/17

Ben Shahn's New York: The Photography of Modern Times is a 2000 exhibit at the Grey Art Gallery which says: "Between 1932 and 1935, Shahn joined the vanguard of the social-documentary movement, making street photographs that defined life in New York City through the prosaic activities and expressive gestures of ordinary people." Accessed 12/18

Common Ground: Photographs by Fazal Sheikh, 1989-2013 is a 2017 exhibit at the Denver Art Museum which says: "Common Ground: Photographs by Fazal Sheikh, 1989-2013, is a survey of the nearly 25-year career of the critically acclaimed photographer Fazal Sheikh. Born and raised in New York City, the artist has focused on raising awareness of international human rights issues through his documentary-based photography practice." Also see DAM video plus commentary by the artist. Accessed 9/17

Dorothea Lange's America is a 2019 exhibit at the Gilcrease Museum which says: "The exhibition Dorothea Lange's America presents these stories with 30 photographs by Dorothea Lange as well as 25 additional works by 11 other photographers working during those troubled times: Mike Disfarmer, Arnold Eagle, Walker Evans, Russell Lee, Wright Morris, Arthur Rothstein, Ben Shawn, Doris Ulmann, John Vachon, Willard Van Dyke and Marion Post Wolcott. Each used their cameras and the power of photography to effect positive change." Accessed 5/20

False Food - Jerry Takigawa is a 2015 exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Photography which says: "In his series False Food, Takigawa speaks to the issue of plastics pollution specifically of the Albatross of the Midway Atoll who mistake plastic debris for food and literally starve to death." Accessed 12/18

Frame by Frame: Photographic Series and Portfolios from the Collection, an exhibit held at the Addison Gallery, Phillips Academy February 2 - April 14, 2013, Accessed August, 2015

Gordon Parks: The Making of an Argument was a 2015 exhibit at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center which says: "[The] Exhibition examines the making of a seminal Life magazine photo essay, the first by noted African-American photographer Gordon Parks." A full checklist is provided in the comprehensive article. Accessed 1/17

Julie Blackmon - The Everyday Fantastic is a 2017 exhibit at the Hood Museum of Art which says: "In Homegrown, her third series, Blackmon evokes a domestic world gone just slightly awry. There is nothing disastrous in her mise-en-scenes -- yet. But each image suggests potential intrigues that percolate just below the level of the obvious." Accessed 8/17

Laurie Simmons: Big Camera/Little Camera is a 2018 exhibit at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth which says: "Simmons's career-long exploration of archetypal gender roles, especially women in domestic settings, is the primary subject of this exhibition and is a topic as poignant today as it was in the late 1970s, when she began to develop her mature style by using props and dolls as stand-ins for people and places." Also see artist's website. Accessed 11/18

Lorna Simpson was a 2014-15 exhibit at the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy which said: "One of the leading artists of her generation, Lorna Simpson came to prominence in the mid-1980s through large-scale photographic and textual works that confronted and challenged conventional attitudes toward race, gender, history, culture, and memory. Spanning more than 30 years of Simpson's practice, this comprehensive retrospective traces the artist's concerns and themes from her earliest documentary photographs to her most recent works" Includes links to 8-page gallery guide, 70-minute video of Lorna Simpson's artist's talk held November 9, 2014, and commentary about Lorna Simpson's work with students at the Addison. Accessed January, 2016.

Masterpieces & Curiosities: Alfred Stieglitz's The Steerage is a 2015 exhibit at the Jewish Museum which says: "Stieglitz considered the work to be his greatest triumph in a long, illustrious career as a photographer, stating later in life, 'If all my photographs were lost, and I'd be represented by just one, The Steerage, I'd be satisfied.'" Accessed 2/19

Rocio de Alba: Honor Thy Mother is a 2017 exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Photography which says: "Rocio de Alba poses in a series of humorous and processed self-portraits, which shows us different contemporary mothers in current modern families." Also see artist's website. Accessed 9/17

Séance: Photographs by Shannon Taggart is a 2021 exhibit at the Albin O. Kuhn Gallery, University of Maryland, Baltimore County which says: "For the past twenty years American artist Shannon Taggart (born 1975) has documented Spiritualist practices and communities in the United States, England, and Europe. The resulting body of work, Séance, examines the relationship of Spiritualism to human celebrity, its connections to art, science, and technology, and its intrinsic bond with the medium of photography. This exhibition presents forty-seven haunting images from the series, revealing the emotional, psychological, and physical dimensions of Spiritualism in the 21st century." Also see the website of the artist. Accessed 12/21

Sid Grossman is a 2018 exhibit at the Pérez Art Museum Miami which says: "Grossman focused his camera on his immediate environment. He understood photography as a tool for social awareness, imbued with the moral imperative to provide new ways to see and capture reality." Accessed 6/18

Slavery, the Prison Industrial Complex: Photographs by Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick is a 2018 exhibit at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts which says: "New Orleans natives Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick have been documenting African American life in Louisiana for more than 30 years. Since 1980, they have made regular visits to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola to photograph life on the prison farm, which was founded on the consolidated land of several cotton and sugarcane plantations." Also see a press release from the Center. Accessed 3/18

Subjective Objective: A Century of Social Photography is a 2017 exhibit at the Zimmerli Art Museum which says: " This exhibition re-examines the genre of social documentary photography by focusing on the shifting criteria embedded within the public image, and the responses of imagemakers to these transformations." Accessed 11/17

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