Munson Features Women Photographers in Fall Exhibition “Modern Women | Modern Vision: Photographs from the Bank of America Collection”
This fall, Munson Museum of Art in Utica will host the exhibition “Modern Women | Modern Vision: Photographs from the Bank of America Collection”. This exhibition, which is free and open to the public, has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program. “Modern Women | Modern Vision: Photographs from the Bank of America Collection” features more than 80 images created exclusively by women artists spanning much of the last century to the present. The exhibition is on view from Oct. 19, 2024, through Jan. 12, 2025, at Munson Museum of Art.
Diverse in style, tone, and subject, these legendary images range from spontaneous to composed as well as monumental to intimate in scale. “Modern Women | Modern Vision: Photographs from the Bank of America Collection” reveals the bold and dynamic ways women artists have contributed to the development and evolution of photography in the face of discrimination by critics and consumers alike.
“From Dorothea Lange’s breathtaking image of a mother and child during the Great Depression to Cindy Sherman’s contemporary film stills, imagery that has become a part of the history of our times will enhance the understanding of the towering contribution made by these artists during the turbulent decades of the 20th century,” observed Stephen Harrison, director and chief curator, Munson Museum of Art.
Women photographers have played a vital role in framing the modern experience through the lens of the camera. They have embraced the art form from its introduction in 1839 through the technological developments of the early 1900s and have used their perspective to produce extraordinary views of the world around them.
Women have negotiated waves of social, political, and economic change, increasingly leveraging the camera as a means of creativity, financial independence, and personal freedom.
“In this exhibition, there are portraits of people from all walks of life that enable us to see and understand humanity,” said Mary Murray, curator of modern and contemporary art, Munson Museum of Art. “Landscapes are framed to underscore our footprint on the earth. Several artists have staged images to unveil the creative artifice of the medium and to reveal how biases are shaped because of photography.”
“Access to the arts and our region’s museums and cultural institutions helps local communities learn, thrive and grow,” said Michael Brunner, president, Bank of America Central New York. “We look forward to sharing this dynamic collection of photographs through our Art in our Communities program, continuing to build cultural understanding and inspiring the next generation.”
Disrupting the longstanding constraints placed on women’s social behavior and gender roles, early trailblazers helped establish photography as a vital form of creative expression. They also laid the groundwork and served as role models for subsequent generations of artists.
The exhibition unfolds through a closer look at six themes within the collection: Modernist Innovators; Documentary Photography and the New Deal; The Photo League; Modern Masters; Exploring the Environment; and The Global Contemporary Lens. Familiar works by Margaret Bourke-White, Imogen Cunningham, Cindy Sherman, and Carrie Mae Weems as well as iconic portraits by Dorothea Lange and Diane Arbus; street photography by Ruth Orkin and Helen Levitt; and edgy appropriation photo-collages by Barbara Kruger combine to tell a dynamic story of the 20th century in a display rich in history, beauty, poignancy, and power.
Curator Mary Murray will present a free gallery talk at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 23, on “The Problem with Portraits,” highlighting a selection of photographs by Dorothea Lange, Cindy Sherman, Carrie Mae Weems, and others in a discussion about the uncomfortable nature of authentic representation.
“Modern Women | Modern Vision: Photographs from the Bank of America Collection” has been loaned through the Bank of America Art in our Communities® program. Bank of America’s support of the arts includes offering the bank’s art collection to communities through curated exhibitions that museums and nonprofit galleries may borrow at no cost. Since launching this program in 2008, Bank of America has shared exhibitions with over 175 museums around the globe to promote greater cultural understanding.
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