NORFOLK, VA.- The Chrysler Museum of Art is pleased to present Facing Ourselves: Mike Disfarmer and the American Portrait, an exhibition of photographs and prints centered around the work of rural town photographer Mike Disfarmer, which will open on December 16, 2022. Facing Ourselves is the debut exhibition of Chelsea Pierce, Ph.D., the recently named McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

This exhibition features six Disfarmer prints newly acquired by the Chrysler Museum and invites close scrutiny of the personal dynamics within this genre of photography. Disfarmer’s work provides a starting point for us to ponder, “What makes a portrait?” Unlike documentary photography, which captures fleeting moments, people and places, portraiture records a deliberate meeting between a photographer and their subject. The individual’s choice of demeanor, dress and facial expression reveals much about the sitter and the person behind the camera.

“With our smartphone cameras today, it is a common occurrence to photograph ourselves, our friends and families with the ease of instantaneous technology. Facing Ourselves takes a longer view of photography as a medium with seven decades of portraits that show this great influence on American society,” said Chelsea Pierce, McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Chrysler Museum of Art. “My hope with this exhibition is to deaccelerate our relationship to pictures, spend a longer time looking, and to appreciate the photographic process.”

Pierce, who began work at the Museum in July 2022, set out to explore how contemporary art relates to diverse genres across time and place, and her debut exhibition does just that. Disfarmer’s portraits, captured between 1930 and 1959, featured individuals seeking to commemorate milestone moments, such as birthdays and anniversaries. Despite these joyous occasions, the expressions of the portrait subjects were often solemn or stoic, resulting in far more intimate and soul-capturing portraits.

Disfarmer operated his portrait studio in downtown Heber Springs, Arkansas, from the 1930s to 1950s, an era of historical significance framed by the Great Depression and World War II. In Facing Ourselves, such artists as Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn and James Van Der Zee—some of the best-known names in American photography—are featured in dialogue with Disfarmer and one another. The subjects range from well-recognized figures like James Baldwin and Albert Einstein to intimate portraits of the artists’ families and friends. Whether the faces are familiar or unknown, we can see ourselves in the subject and, perhaps, they can tell us something about themselves.

“We are so pleased to present Chelsea Pierce’s debut exhibition at the Chrysler Museum,” said Erik Neil, Ph.D., the Macon and Joan Brock director of the Chrysler Museum of Art. “Her thoughtful approach to modern and contemporary art and emphasis on diversity is evident throughout the Facing Ourselves exhibition. We are eager for our guests to experience this exhibition and Chelsea’s strong point of view.” 

Facing Ourselves: Mike Disfarmer and the American Portrait is organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art and will be on view from December 16, 2022, until May 14, 2023.