This exhibition of ten large photographs focuses on a key aspect of the recent work of Barry Frydlender (Israeli, born 1954). Using a handheld digital camera, Frydlender accumulates dozens, sometimes hundreds, of individual shots, then assembles them seamlessly in a computer. This method yields two distinctive results: Although the camera is small, Frydlender’s big prints are unusually sharp and precise. And, while the picture describes a unified swath of space, it is not confined to a uniform period of time. Clues to the passage of time (such as figures that appear more than once) disclose the artificiality of the image and invite careful scrutiny of its rich details.
Frydlender has worked in several countries, including the United States; this exhibition features recent photographs that explore the circumstance of contemporary Israel. With remarkable equanimity that parallels the patient attention that he solicits from his viewers, Frydlender takes it all in: an all-male gathering in an East Jerusalem café, devout Haredi Jews on an annual pilgrimage, young secular hedonists on the street in Tel Aviv, or the forced evacuation of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip.
Organized by Peter Galassi, Chief Curator, Department of Photography, The Museum of Modern Art.
