Aaron Siskind/courtesy of Center for Creative Photography/U of AZ
Photo: 76.62.9 - Siskind, Aaron, 1903-1991
Terrors & Pleasures of Levitation, No. 99, 1961
The Aaron Siskind Foundation
Shutterbugs and art lovers in general shall be delighted to learn that, after going dark this summer for restructuring designed to streamline its research capabilities, the Center for Creative Photography has reopened with a unique exhibit celebrating thirty-five years of excellence.
Creative Continuum: The History of the Center for Creative Photography features carefully culled selections from the some 90,000 photographs and approximately four million archival objects the Center holds. Placed on display are pieces representative of the full collection’s diversity. Creative Continuum also spotlights venerated 20th century practitioners Ansel Adams, Harry Callahan, Frederick Sommer, Aaron Siskind and Wynn Bullock, whose work in 1975 together made up the Center’s inaugural show. The considerable talents of CCP’s founding contributors cannot be overstated.
The best evening to attend may be Thursday, Oct. 13 at 5:30pm, when University of Arizona English Honors Composition students host a public gallery walk incorporating their original writings, readings and performances inspired by the exhibition. “It will be so exciting to hear how the students see it,” says CCP administrative assistant Janet Livingstone. Otherwise, the not-to-be-missed, highly informative exhibit runs through Nov. 27.
In other CCP news, a new program launches Sept. 2 which affords visitors the opportunity to enjoy rare photographs up close. Photo Friday, a free public print viewing from 11:30am-3:30pm on the first Friday of every month, will feature a preselected collection highlights and lesser-known acquisitions usually made available only to specialists. “They will be different each month,” Livingstone tells us. From figure studies to landscapes and still lives to portraits, ever-changing subjects will keep folks coming back for more on Oct. 7, Nov. 4 and Dec. 2. Campus location and parking information are online at .
“Come and be surprised,” says CCP curator of education Cass Fey, emphasizing that Photo Friday is in harmony with the internationally renowned Center’s mission to make its collection readily available to the public. “Seeing in person is remarkable.”
Additional upcoming happenings at CCP include a day of lectures in conjunction with the Tucson Museum of Art’s Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History 1955 to the Present Oct. 22-Jan. 15 show (itself part of Tucson Rocks!, a citywide celebration of the art of rock and roll this fall). On Saturday, Oct. 22 exhibiting artist Lynn Goldsmith and exhibition curator Gail Buckland will speak in the CCP auditorium from 1pm-3pm. Campus location and parking information are online at CreativePhotography.org.
Panel discussions and book signings are also common at the Center. On Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 5:30pm photographer Randy Efros previews his new book on working as a field assistant to “child genius of American photography” Brett Weston. And in keeping with its stated commitment to the creation of new knowledge “beyond our four walls,” traveling exhibitions from the CCP collection will have made appearances in New York, Spain, Germany and The Netherlands before the close of 2011.
The result of CCP’s summer reorganization will be the debut later this year of the Laura Volkerding Study Center allowing, for the first time, fine print viewing side-by-side with archival materials. The Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona - a “cultural gem,” according to Fey - is open Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, and Saturday-Sunday, 1pm-4pm, at 1030 N. Olive Rd., with parking behind the center free on weekends.
