Art Museum Review

Art Museum Review

The George Eastman House International Museum of Photography & Film in Rochester, New York holds its place in visual history with the exhibition of photographs. The current exhibits of the museum includes "Cameras from the Technology Collection," a retrospective of camera technology from the first Kodak camera to the Brownie, a later model; "Taking Aim: Unforgettable Rock 'n' Roll Photographs Selected by Graham Nash," a retrospective of 100 photographs in pop music, chosen by Crosby, Stills & Nash's musician, Graham Nash, and "Sweet Creations: Gingerbread House Display," which is a baker's delight, featuring exhibitions produced by bakers, community groups and families (George Eastman House, 3).

The Museum had previously exhibited photographs by the Oscar-winning actress, Jessica Lange, 33 images from her travels to Ethiopia and Romania (George Eastman Kodak, 4). They have also exhibited the idea of "What We're Collecting Now: Art/Not Art," which explores different modes of photography and its processes. With this, Eastman has shown its collections for the past five years. The themes are organized by students of an Eastman House/Ryerson University program, which studies the preservation and collection of photographs (George Eastman Kodak, 6).

The George Eastman House, which opened to the public in 1949, is a nonprofit museum that holds hundreds of items in its possession. George Eastman, its legacy, is considered the father of modern photography and motion picture (George Eastman Kodak, 5). The House is interested in preserving his legacy, as well as preserving the integrity of the photographic arts.

In similar fashion, the Art Institute of Chicago holds photography in its collection, but also, many of its current exhibitions include an eclectic mix of still life, films, prints and paintings (Art Institute of Chicago, 1).

One striking exhibition in its collection is part of "Richard Hawkins? -- Third Mind," the collage, Dragonfly 2, 2009 (Art Institute of Chicago, 2), which will be on exhibit until January 16, 2011. The collage has a white background with intense yellow markings framing the entire artwork. Splashes of color like red and several shades of blue are added to the collage in a "dragonfly, wing-like" formation. A cutout photograph of a boy is pasted on the "wing" of a lighter shade of blue, perhaps to note a sense of calm to his surroundings.