museumofmodernart

Great Reads in Photography: March 7, 2021

Every Sunday, we bring together a collection of easy-reading articles from analytical to how-to to photo-features in no particular order that did not make our regular daily coverage. Enjoy!

These Iconic Photos Owned by MoMA Are Getting Put Up for Sale

The Museum of Modern Art is planning to sell over 400 photos from its impressive collection, including early prints of some of the most famous photos by legendary photographers. The 3-minute video above is a look at a few of the works that you can soon own if you have sufficiently deep pockets.

What I Learned By Taking MoMA’s New Photography Course

Last week, the Museum of Modern Art unleashed a free online course on Coursera entitled “Seeing Through Photographs” as taught by MOMA Department of Photography Curator Sarah Meister. Although I’ve watched dozens if not hundreds of YouTube videos on everything from “How to tie a bowtie” to last night’s “Coq Au Vin Recipe,” I had never taken an online course, and was intrigued by the subject matter.

Monsters: Photographs of People Making Silhouettes in a Museum

In December 2012, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City featured an interactive art installation by Philip Worthington called "Shadow Monsters". The exhibit was created using a computer, a camera, two projectors, a light box, and some clever software. When visitors stepped in front of the light box, their shadows were magically transformed into creatures that were brought to life through sound and animation.

Photographer Joseph O. Holmes saw the unique exhibition as a photo project opportunity. However, instead of photographing the resulting monsters, he decided to turn the camera on the participants themselves, capturing their monster-making activities as a series of silhouettes.

Photographs Captured Over Years with an Open Camera Shutter

German photographer Michael Wesely has spent decades working on techniques for extremely long camera exposures -- usually between two to three years. In the mid-1990s, he began using the technique to document urban development over time, capturing years of building projects in single frames. In 1997, he focused his cameras on the rebuilding of Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, and in 2001 he began photographing the Museum of Modern Art's ambitious renovation project. He uses filters and extremely small apertures to reduce the amount of light striking the film, creating unique images that capture both space and time.