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Artists: Elijah Burgher/Tom Daws, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Desirée Holman, Leigh Ledare, Laurel Nakadate, and Michael Sirianni

In the six artists ’ works in Intimacies the camera is an active agent in the creation of social events, not just a recording instrument in the hands of an autonomous documentarian. The primarily photographic and video works, some of which include painting and sculptural elements, focus on charged interpersonal encounters. Beyond serving as indices of such encounters, the included artworks reveal the reconfigured effects of such exchanges, disclosing the complexity of authorship, agency, and viewership in today ’s world.

To contextualize the contemporary works within the heritage of the camera as a social mechanism, the exhibition is accompanied by photographs by Sally Mann, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Nicholas Nixon, and Carrie Mae Weems. Supplementary material for and by the UIC graduate seminar led by John Neff (also titled “Intimacies”) is available in the same companion room.

Related:

• LaToya Ruby Frazier website
• Desireé Holman website
• Laurel Nakadate website
• Michael Sirianni website
• Ghost Vomit
  (Elijah Burgher blog)

EXHIBITION CHECKLIST

Elijah Burgher

Untitled (sigil created for ritual action undertaken on May 25, 2011), 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 84 x 64 in.

Elijah Burgher/Tom Daws

Ritual Action, May 25, 2011, 2011
Video, 18:00 min.

LaToya Ruby Frazier

Aunt Migee and Grandma Ruby, 2007
Gelatin silver print, ed. 1/8, 17 1/2 x 21 1/2 in.

Me and Mom ’s Boyfriend Mr. Art, 2007
Gelatin silver print, ed. 1/8, 17 1/2 x 21 1/2 in.

Mom and Her Boyfriend Mr. Art, 2005
Gelatin silver print, ed. 1/8, 17 1/2 x 21 1/2 in.

Mom Making an Image of Me, 2008
Gelatin silver print, ed. 1/8, 17 1/2 x 21 1/2 in.

Momme Heads, 2008
Video, 2:00 min.

Momme Wrestle, 2009
Video, 1:00 min.

Mom Relaxing my Hair, 2005
Gelatin silver print, ed. 1/8, 17 1/2 x 21 1/2 in.

Desirée Holman

Heterotopias, 2011
Three-channel HD video, 13:00 min.

Not Cliff, 2009
Drawing, 16 x 16 in.

Televisions (Conduits of Fantasy) 1, 2007
Drawing, 16 x 16 in.

Televisions (Conduits of Fantasy) 2, 2007
Drawing, 16 x 16 in.

Leigh Ledare
Shoulder, The Gift, The Model, 2006
Video in three sections, 15:00 min.

Laurel Nakadate
Good Morning Sunshine, 2009
HD video, 26:33 min.

Exorcism in January, 2009
C-print, ed. 1/10, 30 x 40 in.

Lessons 1–10, 2001
Video, 1:59 min.

Michael Sirianni

CTRL, 2011
Video, 18:00 min.

CTRL, 2011
Inkjet prints, 23 1/4 x 31 in. each

Sally Mann

Perfect Tomato, 1990
Gelatin silver print, 20 x 24 in.
Courtesy the Museum of Contemporary Photography

Ralph Eugene Meatyard

Lucybelle Crater and Her 15 Year Old Son’s Friend, from “Portfolio Three: the Work of Ralph Eugene Meatyard,” 1970–1971, printed 1974
Gelatin silver print, 7 x 7 in.
Courtesy the Museum of Contemporary Photography

Nicholas Nixon

Heather Brown McCann, Mimi Brown, Bebe Brown Nixon, Laurie Brown, 1978
Gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 in.
Courtesy the Museum of Contemporary Photography

The Brown Sisters, Lexington, 1996
Gelatin silver print, 8 x 10 in.
Courtesy the Museum of Contemporary Photography

Carrie Mae Weems

Untitled #2451, 1990
Gelatin silver print, 28 x 28 in.
Courtesy the Museum of Contemporary Photography

EXHIBITION SUPPORT

Intimacies is supported by the College of Architecture and the Arts, University of Illinois at Chicago; a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency.

Special thanks for the Museum of Contemporary Photography for their loan of art works.

PRINT COLLATERAL

Postcard: Intimacies

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Poster: Intimacies

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CURATORS BIOGRAPHIES

John Neff’s sculptures, photographic images, and collages meditate on the very processes of making and transforming meaning through material contact, the experience of the body, and the mediating mechanisms of technology. An artist and writer based in Chicago, Neff received an MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2001.

Lorelei Stewart, Director of Gallery 400 since 2000, has organized over 40 exhibitions, including the Joyce Award-winning exhibition Edgar Arceneaux: The Alchemy of Comedy…Stupid (2006). In 2002 she initiated the acclaimed At the Edge: Innovative Art in Chicago series, a commissioning program that encouraged Chicago area artists’ experimental practices. Stewart currently serves as Interim Director of the Master of Arts in Museum and Exhibition Studies program at University of Illinois at Chicago. She holds a BA from Smith College, a BFA from Corcoran College of Art and Design, and an MA in Curatorial Studies from Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College.

MEDIA COVERAGE

Holmes, Gretchen. “Eye Exam: Personal Spaces.” newcity.com, Sept. 20, 2011.

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Weinberg, Lauren. “Intimacies at Gallery 400.” TimeOut Chicago, Sept. 28, 2011.

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