Images from Early Days of Photography on Display at Juniata Art Museum
(Posted September 12, 2016)
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HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Visitors to the Juniata College Museum of Art will be given an opportunity to take a look images of the early 20th century through “Pure Photography: Pictorial and Modern Photographs from the Syracuse University Art Collection.” The collection features photographs that range from 1901 to 1956. The exhibit will open on Thursday, Sept. 22, and run through Oct. 29.
There will be an opening reception for the exhibit at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22. The reception and museum exhibition are free and open to the public.
“Pure Photography” features works from famous early photographers such as Edward Steichen, Berenice Abbott and Alfred Stieglitz, as well as 18 others. The artwork featured in the exhibit comes from important moments in the establishment of photography as an art form. The earlier works in the collection are taken from a time when photographers wanted to mimic known forms of art, such as paintings, in an effort to build legitimacy. Later on, in photographic works from after 1920 and even approaching the 1950s, the artists began developing methods that were unique to photography that would help their discipline to be recognized as an art form that stands on its own together with other artistic mediums.
In addition to the value photos bring as works of art, they also provide a penetrating look into our nation’s past. “You can look at the photographs from a historical perspective,” said Kathryn Blake, director of Juniata College Museum of Art. “What are they showing about how people lived during the early 20th century? What did cities look like? You can look at the photographs as documents of a place and a time for different types of people.”
The Syracuse University traveling exhibition program was founded almost 30 years ago, with the purpose of enhancing the cultural environment of its community and surrounding area. All together, the program has 29 different exhibits that travel to various small to medium-sized museums, as well as to colleges throughout the country.
"You can look at the photographs as documents of a place and a time for different types of people."
Kathryn Blake, director, Juniata College Museum of Art
For any student who takes photography classes at Juniata, the exhibit offers a unique learning experience. The art department works with both digital and traditional forms of photography, and gives students a chance to develop photographs in a darkroom on campus. “You’re seeing photography where there is still a lot of that manual aspect involved with printing images,” said Blake.
Museum hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday, 2 to 10 p.m., and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. For more information, please call the museum at (814) 641-3505, or visit the Juniata College website at http://www.juniata.edu/museum.
By Joey DiGangi ’18
Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.