Page Bond Gallery Exhibition
"Maggie" Emmet and Elijah Gowin
When I first walked into the Page Bond Gallery and saw the way "Maggie" was set up, I was already thinking negatively. My first impression was that of a conventional, clean cut gallery set up, which I was bored with from the start. It was very clean, each photo had a white matte and they all had the same frames (almost) and they were all evenly spaced apart and centered in the wall. The first photo I looked at was 7 5/8 inches by 9 3/4 inches and cost $5,000. After picking my jaw up off the floor, I took a deeper look around and realized I was perhaps a little too hasty in my original judgment. Not only did every single print have a perfect tonal range and high contrast ranging from pure white to pure black in every one, but they also held my interest and got my involved.
The photographs that comprise "Maggie" were taken by Elijah and Emmet Gowin. This series is a collection of photos that feature the life of this woman, Maggie. The photographs range in the years they were taken from 1963-2003. During this huge amount of time, Elijah and Emmet creatively document the important aspects of Maggie's life. I feel like I was let into Maggie's secret little world, and I felt honored to be there. This series focused on the simple things in life that made Maggie's life a special one. They're family was evidently poor and lived in a country home in Danville, Virginia. The photos show Maggie's home, her barn, inside her kitchen and her bedroom, her children, her lover, her pets, and her keepsakes. I really felt like I was learning alot about this person, her family, and her hobbies. Some of the photographs let me learn more about her, but really didn't hold my attention. On the other hand, some pieces really interested me and I'll feature those individually now.
"Bubble"
When I first walked into the Page Bond Gallery and saw the way "Maggie" was set up, I was already thinking negatively. My first impression was that of a conventional, clean cut gallery set up, which I was bored with from the start. It was very clean, each photo had a white matte and they all had the same frames (almost) and they were all evenly spaced apart and centered in the wall. The first photo I looked at was 7 5/8 inches by 9 3/4 inches and cost $5,000. After picking my jaw up off the floor, I took a deeper look around and realized I was perhaps a little too hasty in my original judgment. Not only did every single print have a perfect tonal range and high contrast ranging from pure white to pure black in every one, but they also held my interest and got my involved.The photographs that comprise "Maggie" were taken by Elijah and Emmet Gowin. This series is a collection of photos that feature the life of this woman, Maggie. The photographs range in the years they were taken from 1963-2003. During this huge amount of time, Elijah and Emmet creatively document the important aspects of Maggie's life. I feel like I was let into Maggie's secret little world, and I felt honored to be there. This series focused on the simple things in life that made Maggie's life a special one. They're family was evidently poor and lived in a country home in Danville, Virginia. The photos show Maggie's home, her barn, inside her kitchen and her bedroom, her children, her lover, her pets, and her keepsakes. I really felt like I was learning alot about this person, her family, and her hobbies. Some of the photographs let me learn more about her, but really didn't hold my attention. On the other hand, some pieces really interested me and I'll feature those individually now.
"Bubble"
This photograph is entitled bubble for obvious reasons. This was taken in 2003 and is one of the most recent photos in the show. You can tell by Maggie's face and arms that she has aged.I love everything about this picture. I love the composition, the tonality, and the subject matter. I love the perspective it was taken at, the seletive focus, and the texture in Maggie's skin. I love Maggie's concerntration and amusement with the butterflies in the bubble.
"Maggie and Darlene"
This was a photograph that just really intrigued me. It's so unconventional and just plain bizarre, but beautfitul at the same time. This photography shows the make-shift studio that had to be used for Darlene's wedding, considering the family didn't have much money. I love seeing the make-shift clothesline backdrop and the out-of-focus pet in the front. What I couldn't understand was the relationship between the figures; if we are looking at mother and daughter or perhaps bride and "groom" I'm not sure..."Maggie as Santa"
To be honest, the photos of "Maggie as Santa" were just confusing and a bit frighetning to me. The confusing part of these photos is not context, I understand that Maggie is dressing up as Santa, but I am confused by the composition of the photo. The way the camera is positioned, you can clearly see the tripod and camera in the skinny mirror. The photographer could have easily taken one step backwards so I'm sure the placement was intentional, I just don't know why seeing the camera is important of even relevant in the image.
To be honest, the photos of "Maggie as Santa" were just confusing and a bit frighetning to me. The confusing part of these photos is not context, I understand that Maggie is dressing up as Santa, but I am confused by the composition of the photo. The way the camera is positioned, you can clearly see the tripod and camera in the skinny mirror. The photographer could have easily taken one step backwards so I'm sure the placement was intentional, I just don't know why seeing the camera is important of even relevant in the image.Framing
I only included this photo to the left to talk about the framing. 90% of the photos in the show were on plain white mattes with a skinny black frame behind glass... indentical. Whenever there was a photo of Maggie outside near her barn, however, the photograph was usually bigger, and often in a large wooden frame with really nice wood grain marks. I wanted to point this out because I think the decision to use a wooden frame to accent the wooden barn was brilliant.
"Maggie"
I believe that it was imperative to include this photograph when talking about the "Maggie" show. This is obviously a portrait and obviously in color. It is important to note the color photograph because it was the sole color photograph in the entire show. I understand the importance of the portrait/headshot being in color to stand out, what I don't understand was the placement in the gallery. This photo wasn't on its own wall, it wasn't in the center of a group of images, it didn't stand out from the rest at all (as far as placement goes.) It was simply mixed in with the other images and seemed to have no place chronologically."The Game Maker"
This is the last photograph I wanted to feature. This is called the game maker for obvious reasons. This photo just kind of touched my heart in it's innocence. Viewers knew that Maggie was poor and seeing her construct her own board games with newspaper just made me smile. She took advantage of her resources, got creative, and made a game for herself and her family without spending any money. The photographs of Maggie making games or clothesline/paper sculptures for fun made me realize how much Elijah and Emmet appreciated the little things in Maggie's life.Photos from this post are photos I took personally.
