MoMA | Tag: Walead Beshty

Posts tagged ‘Walead Beshty’

November 18, 2009 | Collection & Exhibitions

Walead Beshty in New Photography 2009

Posted by Eva Respini, Associate Curator, Department of Photography

I think it’s a really vital moment for photography right now. Over the past few years, a number of artists have re-opened the discussion on the nature of photography, investigating the materials and processes of the medium itself. Of course, this recent examination is part of a long lineage of experimentation in photography, seen in the work of artistic giants such as László Moholy-Nagy (included in MoMA’s current Bauhaus exhibition) as well as in more recent experimentation by artists such as James Welling. Walead Beshty is active in many of these discussions, as both a writer on the subject and an artist addressing the basic processes of photography.

Sterling Ruby in New Photography 2009

Posted by Eva Respini, Associate Curator, Department of Photography

New Photography is one of my favorite shows to organize. Generally, it means working with artists of my own generation, and introducing work that I really believe in to a larger audience. New Photography is about new ideas and new ways of working, and this year’s installment of the exhibition series (which has been around since 1985) is no different. While in previous years we have highlighted work of artists that are not artistically related, this year, I decided to take a thematic approach and bring together the works of artists that participate in the lively debate on the nature of photography in the twenty-first century. This new approach to the exhibition series is an experiment, which is very much in the spirit of the work in the show.