For Frieze Masters 2017, Bruce Silverstein proposes a curated exhibition featuring significant photographic works by Constantin Brancusi, Alfred Leslie, Rene Magritte, Man Ray, Henry Moore, Barbara Morgan, Aaron Siskind, David Smith, and Frederick Sommer. This exhibition will explore the historically interwoven relationships between photography and other medium, including sculpting, painting, drawing and dance. Selected artists utilize photography as a means of communication and introduce advanced and alternative ways of seeing.
Our stand will feature Aaron Siskind’s Seaweed (1947-1953), photographs which transcend the utility of photography solely as a means of documentation but as a new method of interpreting how we see. Siskind stated, “When I make a photograph I want it to be an altogether new object, complete and self-contained.”
Photographs of sculptures created by Henry Moore will be displayed alongside Barbara Morgan’s images created in collaboration with Martha Graham. Here we find Morgan’s dancer suspended mid-flight contrasting Moore’s static subjects, unified by the action of being captured in time and space by way of the photograph.
Frederick Sommer blurs the lines of drawing and photography much like Brancusi, who communicated through photography the interaction of light and movement among the sculptures within his studio.
The languages of all mediums contain universals such as form, line, chiaroscuro, and the decision regarding a subtle or forthright delivery. We will direct the spotlight on the harmony between mediums and how each aspect of art is directly influenced, effected, or advanced by photography.
Rene Magritte’s rare and previously unseen photographs will also be on display. These photographs are a testament to the value of collaboration among artists. Magritte is known for his surrealist paintings, pushing us to believe he had directed the photographs
