COLLEGEVILLE, PA.- The distinctive black and white urban landscape photographs of George Tice, regarded by many one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, are being shown at
The Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College June 4 through Sept. 6.
His work over 60 years chronicles iconic scenes, many in his native New Jersey -- a telephone booth, a White Castle hamburger joint, a gas station all a testament to the extraordinary beauty in ordinary places.
The Berman exhibition, George Tice: Seldom Seen and Big Platinums, features more than 40 photographs that reveal the depth and breadth of a master photographer. These include large platinum photographs of many of Tices iconic images and a selection of lesser-known works recently published in a book titled, George Tice: Seldom Seen. (Brilliant Press 2013)
Tice, 77, writes in the preface to the book Urban Landscapes, This is the New Jersey I grew up in, much of it bygone. There are no shopping malls here, just main streets and downtowns. In my lifelong quest, looking for beauty, I managed to find it in places that some would think the most unlikely. In fact, I found it almost everywhere I looked.
Tice occasionally photographs at night using long exposures. His work is among the best examples of the dwindling craft of darkroom photography, says Museum Director Charles Stainback, curator of the exhibit. Tice is accessible, and highly respected, a photographers photographer. Tices artistic viewpoint has been compared to painter Edward Hopper; views of the ordinary that look extraordinary. He is known for the quality of his large format black and white photographs.
Tice has published 18 photography books, and his original photographs are in The Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y., The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, The Art Institute of Chicago and the Newark Museum.
Tice, from Newark, N.J., joined a local camera club with his inexpensive 35mm camera as a teen, and was encouraged by a visiting professional photographer. Later, a print of his was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art. Writer August Kleinzahler referred to him as poet of place in an essay in Seldom Seen.