An Awakening
I love the National Gallery of Art. I should go more often, it being so close, but I don’t. Every time I go, I see something that sparks the artist within…and I end up spending a boatload in the gift shop. Each trip to the National Gallery is both exhilarating and frustrating, inspiring me to create and reminding me of how little time I have to do so. I am extremely focused when I go…specifically on the photography exhibits and sketches. The last time I went it was Paris in Transition that drew me. I was completely taken with the exhibit and Dora Maar’s Puppet Hooked on a Fence. I am ashamed to say that was over 4 years ago.
This year I convinced my sister and brother-in-law to go to the National Gallery of Art during their trip here over the holidays. Actually, the debate was whether we should go to the National Gallery or the Museum of Natural History. I was selfish, I know, but I think they enjoyed the visit, as they wanted to go to both. After a quick trip to the espresso bar and an hour in the gift shop, I was off to the exhibit for which I made the visit…Henry Callahan at 100. I had no idea who Henry Callahan was but soon came to understand why he was referred to as “one of the most innovative and influential photographers of the 20th century.” His works ranged from rural landscapes to city streets to personal portraits, both in black and white and in color. I am normally a sucker for architectural photography, the more monochromatic the better, but I was captivated by Callahan’s portraits and the individuals in his street scenes. The intimate pictures of his wife were stunning and the fleeting shots of random people in his street scenes were engaging in their haunting anonymity. After I had made it through the exhibit, it surprised me how much I enjoyed his work and my mind raced with questions, not about Henry Callahan but about myself. Where I was going creatively with all of these crazy artistic “hobbies”, what were my creative goals, and the question at the forefront of my mind…
Will anything I do ever be considered “influential?”
Who knows…I hope so.
~ Kim
Addendum: I got into trouble for this photograph at the museum. Don’t worry…I didn’t use a flash, but it’s a major no-no to take photographs in the special exhibits. I couldn’t help it. It reminded me of my grandmother.
Personal Photo of H. Callahan's 'Detroit, 1950'
