"THE LIT ROOM"
The Ellen Curlee Gallery is pleased to present "The Lit Room", the first installment in an ongoing series designed to instigate a dialogue about the current trends in photography and the future of the medium as a fine art.
"The intention of the artist must therefore be to unsettle conventional thought from within, to cast doubt on the normalized perception of the 'natural' by destabilizing the means used to represent It." –Tom Lawson
The medium of photography is still in its infancy if compared to painting and sculpture. However, the impact of the photographic image has transformed the way that we perceive beauty, nature, social issues, and even ourselves.
Now we are on the cusp of a transformation within fine art photography. Artists are exploring the potential of photography as a source material, hybridizing the photograph with sculpture, drawing and painting. As they are mapping out the uncharted territory of the digital image, photography is quickly becoming a part of the natural environment of the artist. The intent of this new work is not to give an objective slice of reality; instead, it offers a chance to question our fundamental meaning of perception.
"The Lit Room" uses projectors, reading areas and critical text installations, to present current photographic trends that aim to challenge notions of the medium and highlight current trends that are enriching it. The concept for the installation and the list of artists featured were inspired by, in most cases, viewing the works or closely following the development of these artists via reviews, articles and websites. It is intended to be a sampling of emerging work rather than comprehensive list of artists currently exploring the medium.
By presenting a night 'beyond' traditional photography, 'The Lit Room' invites the viewer to ask new questions, raise new doubts, and debate the dynamic processes shaping photography today. These new approaches deserve a candid review.
