International Center of Photography

I met up with Leela and Paul with the ICP on 6th and 44th. The centerpiece exhibit was Dress Code, a set of photographs/videos that directly or indirectly carry fashion as part of the expressed work. With 33 artists (one installation wasn't working) representing everything from formal studio photos to video games, there was bound to be things I loved and things I hated.

Cindy Sherman (photo link left) has always been a favorite of mine but I've never seen her work in person. She had two pieces showing and both were most 'real' drag than some other prints I'd seen. I love her sense of play, as if she were an adult playing dress-up, but with much higher production value.

I also liked Zhou Tao's video 1-2-3-4. The scene bounces from various morning rituals of formation as employees prepare for their day working in Guangzhou. While some of the row-by-column images appear militaristic, the outfits and gender segregation showcases the constraints and individuality of various cultural and social working-class demographics. Just the movements and calls are hypnotic in a small way.

There was a strong preference to showcase black artists, particularly African-American imagery. Unfortunately the themes surfacing tended to fall to stereotypical portrayals of the subjects as jungle-like, untamed, exotic, or exploited (sexually, vocally, or otherwise). This saddened me but I can't truly criticize given my limited understanding or experience of fashion and photography filtered through those experiences. I just hoped to see more breadth and innovation given the number of artists representing these broad experiences, temporally and culturally.

My favorite piece was a portrait of Cate Blanchett by David Rosetzky. The video was beautifully looped so you could join the expression of person and space at any moment in the cycle and not be lost. Cate walks through moves in a large space, set with a chair and walls; it could be any backstage space in an old theater. In one part she takes off or puts abck on several jersey-cotton layers of tops, adding form, color, and texture. other segments have her posing her hand, moving to music, and sitting in a chair for a lens that needs to focus. Throughout the portrait, she talks about masks, interpretations, human contradictions, futility of self-awareness given temporal changes in self, and many other engaging topics where acting, life, and expression intersect.