ROCHESTER, NY.- George Eastman House has dedicated its new History of Photography Gallery to rotating installations that trace photographys historical path to the present through photographs and cameras from the museums collection. The gallery opened in May and the second rotation of photographs from its collection is on display until Feebruary 21. This installation of photographs was curated but Joe Struble, collection manager in the Department of Photography at George Eastman House.
In addition to the new selection of photographs, the cameras that are currently on display will remain in the gallery until May 2015 and were curated by Todd Gustavson, technology curator, George Eastman House. The photographs in the gallery will change approximately three times a year and the cameras once a year, continually refreshing the experience of visiting George Eastman House and offering regular opportunities to view the museums treasures.
Each rotation traces photographys complex relationship to both art and information as the medium developed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By demonstrating the technological and aesthetic choices photographers have made for over a century and a half, the photographs in this installation illustrate the tremendous flexibility of the medium. At the same time, the iconic nature of many of the images suggests the indelible impact photography has had on our understanding of human vision and creativity.
The George Eastman House photography collection is among the best and most comprehensive in the world, with holdings that include objects ranging in date from the announcement of the mediums invention in 1839 to the present day. Works by renowned masters of the medium exist side-by-side with vernacular and scientific photographs. The collection also includes all applications of the medium, from artistic pursuit to commercial enterprise and from amateur pastime to documentary record, as well as all types of photographic processes, from daguerreotypes to digital prints.