Recent History: Photographs by Luc Delahaye
From July 31 to Novemeber 25, the Getty Center in Los Angeles is has an exhibit called "Recent History: Photographs by Luc Delahaye." I went today and I cannot recommend it more. There are only maybe 10 photographs on display, but don't let that keep you from going. Remember, the Getty is free aside from parking (which is currently $8 per car).
Delahaye's photographs are astounding to look at when on display. I didn't even want to put one of his photos in this post because I don't think any gif or jpeg will do them justice (although the Getty site linked above does have images). Not only does Delahaye capture unique and painfully real images, but the prints are then blown up to what the museum describes as "near life-size." Each print is several FEET long and high. I felt like I could almost step into the scene.
The rest of this will really only make sense if you've been to the exhibit or (gasp!) looked at the photos online:
I truly liked every single one on display. My favorite was the one called "Aftermath in Meulaboh" depicting a single man standing in a field of rubble in the wake of the 2004 Tsunami. According to the exhibit brochure, Meulaboh lost 1/3 of it's population. The sadness of the scene is intense and immediately affecting.
"A Mass Grave near Snagovo, Bosnia" made me feel like I was dead inside. As the exhibit notes, the scene feels almost clinical and academic, when in fact these four people are kneeling in death. I felt like I should've had more of a reaction at first sight... but that's the point of the photograph, isn't it?
I've been thinking about every one of the photographs ever since I saw them today. I may even go back to see them again in a few weeks.
UPDATE: The following quote was up on the wall in the first room of the exhibit mixed in with other info on Delahaye and his work. I found it to be indicative of not only the photographs, but also in an overall sense, of how the photos impacted me:
"There is something rather beautiful about the practice of photography: it allows the self to be reunited with the world." --excerpted from "Luc Delahaye: Snap Decision," interview by Philippe Dagen, Art Press no. 306.
Delahaye's photographs are astounding to look at when on display. I didn't even want to put one of his photos in this post because I don't think any gif or jpeg will do them justice (although the Getty site linked above does have images). Not only does Delahaye capture unique and painfully real images, but the prints are then blown up to what the museum describes as "near life-size." Each print is several FEET long and high. I felt like I could almost step into the scene.
The rest of this will really only make sense if you've been to the exhibit or (gasp!) looked at the photos online:
I truly liked every single one on display. My favorite was the one called "Aftermath in Meulaboh" depicting a single man standing in a field of rubble in the wake of the 2004 Tsunami. According to the exhibit brochure, Meulaboh lost 1/3 of it's population. The sadness of the scene is intense and immediately affecting.
"A Mass Grave near Snagovo, Bosnia" made me feel like I was dead inside. As the exhibit notes, the scene feels almost clinical and academic, when in fact these four people are kneeling in death. I felt like I should've had more of a reaction at first sight... but that's the point of the photograph, isn't it?
I've been thinking about every one of the photographs ever since I saw them today. I may even go back to see them again in a few weeks.
UPDATE: The following quote was up on the wall in the first room of the exhibit mixed in with other info on Delahaye and his work. I found it to be indicative of not only the photographs, but also in an overall sense, of how the photos impacted me:
"There is something rather beautiful about the practice of photography: it allows the self to be reunited with the world." --excerpted from "Luc Delahaye: Snap Decision," interview by Philippe Dagen, Art Press no. 306.
posted by Hameed at 5:43 PM
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