Photo Friday

The October Photo Friday is devoted to the study of photographs that capture the varied aspects of solitude. From the solitude of being alone in vast spaces to being alone within large crowds, solitude can provide solace and opportunities for reflection and solace. It can also create feelings of unease and anxiety. For others, solitude can bring a sense of elation or freedom. The range of feelings that solitude can offer is explored this month through photographs by Ansel Adams, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Linda Connor, Jerry Uelsmann, Ruth Bernhard, Imogen Cunningham, and many more.

About Photo Friday

Photo Fridays offer visitors a unique opportunity to view curated selections of unframed photographs pulled from the Center's collections. Without frame or glass, visitors can examine each photograph’s surface, see detail otherwise obscured by protective glass, and connect with the works on an intimate level. Expect to see collection highlights as well as surprising, lesser-known treasures that will help inform your knowledge of the history of photography, its techniques, and its practitioners. Free and open to the public.

Participate in free guided exhibition tours during Photo Friday, offered at 11:30am and 1:00pm. No reservations required. Contact Cass Fey for more information.

Photo Fridays return with a selection of photographs curated by Becky Senf revolving around the theme of family, presented in conjunction with the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art's Bill Owens: Suburbia.

Meet in the lobby for free guided exhibition tours at 11:30am and 1:00pm. For more information about tours, contact Cass Fey, Curator of Education at feyc@ccp.arizona.edu.

The focus of the May Photo Friday will be on the work of New York City-based artist Rosalind Fox Solomon. Across diverse societies and circumstances, she examines relationships and ritual; survival and struggle. The selection of photographs references flowers, as in “April showers bring May flowers” which allows for a fine cross-section of her amazing images to be highlighted. The Rosalind Solomon Archive at the Center contains over 1000 fine prints, unique books and other art works which, together with her original negatives, transparencies, personal papers and other documentation, chronicle her long and productive career. Ms. Solomon’s images continue to be widely published and exhibited around the world.

Special guided exhibition tours of Charles Harbutt, Departures and Arrivals will be available during Photo Friday at 10:30am and 12:30pm. Please meet in the lobby for these 30-40 minute highlight tours with Cass Fey, Curator of Education.

This will be the last Photo Friday until September 2014. Rosalind Solomon will be present for this event.

The “selfie”—which Urban Dictionary defines as “a picture taken of yourself that is planned to be uploaded to Facebook, Myspace or any other sort of social networking website—is everywhere today. From Facebook to the Oscars, everyone is snapping pictures of themselves yet the selfie is not a new idea. People have been fascinated with producing images of themselves since the invention of photography in the 1800s. The April 4, 2014 Photo Friday at the Center for Creative Photography presents a variety of self-portraits by artists in the Center’s fine art photography collection.

The March 2014 Photo Friday will celebrate the five photographers whose archives created the foundation for the Center for Creative Photography's collections -- Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock, Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind and Frederick Sommer. "5x5" will showcase the versatility of each photographer and the wide range of subjects that enthralled them during their artistic careers. On display will be five prints by each photographer, including recognizable images as well as images that may surprise viewers.

Music played an important role throughout Ansel Adams’ life.  At the age of twelve, Adams taught himself to play the piano and to read music.  For the next ten years or so he studied piano, intending to pursue a career as a concert pianist.  Although he eventually gave up the piano for photography, music influenced his work as a photographer throughout his career.  Adams said, “. . . the negative is similar to a musician's score, and the print to the performance of that score. The negative comes to life only when ‘performed’ as a print." The February 7, 2014 Photo Friday at the Center for Creative Photography will feature pairs and small groups of Adams photographs exploring an idea taken from music – themes and variations.  

Need something to smile about now that the new year has arrived? This Photo Friday looks at the lighter side of the Center’s collection with images that only photography can capture and preserve. Robert Doisneau is known for his wry, yet playful look at contemporary life in Paris, while Elliot Erwitt takes on the absurdities in life amidst his documentary endeavors.  Both photographers’ works are included as well as those by John Gutmann, Jerry Uelsmann, and some individual baseball cards (with stats!) of your favorite artists by Mike Mandel.

Known for his grand, expansive view of the spectacular in nature, Ansel Adams also captured nature’s “intimate” details in hundreds of photographs made throughout his career. These close-up views, from the anatomy of leaves to the murky crevice between rocks, are as captivating and inspiring as Adams's more celebrated majestic views. The December 6, 2013 Photo Friday at the Center for Creative Photography looks at some of these lesser-known but important works by Adams from the Center’s Ansel Adams Archive.

The Center will be offering guided exhibition tours with the opening of Charles Harbutt, Arrivals and Departures. Special tours are available on Friday, December 6 at 12:30pm and Friday, January 3 at 10:30am and 12:30pm. Please meet in the lobby for these 30-40 minute highlight tours with the Curator of Education.

Hollywood, self-proclaimed movie capital of the world, is home to the famous and infamous alike.  From glamour shots to mug shots, photographers and photography played a pivotal role in making Hollywood what it is today. The November 1 Photo Friday looks at Hollywood through the lenses of well-known photographers in the Center’s collection. Included are works by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Robert Cummings, Nickolas Muray, W. Eugene Smith, Peter Stackpole, Edward Steichen, Edward Weston, Garry Winogrand, and Max Yavno.

This Photo Friday presents a variety of ways one can experience the repetitious quality of photography—not only between multiple images from the same negative, but also within individual images, their content, and formal aspects.  And, of course, this idea is interpreted with broad curatorial license from the Center’s deep collection.  Included in the selection are works by Diane Arbus, Stephan Diller, Rosalind Solomon, Stephen Sprague, and Garry Winogrand, among others.