April 14 - June 13, 2008

Contact: Thomas Moore
Director of Arts & Culture
410-455-3370
tmoore@umbc.edu

Note: You may view or download this release as a pdf file.

The Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery presents Paradoxes of Modernism, opening on April 14th and closing on June 13th, featuring 75 photographs that survey Modernism from the 1920s to the 1970s.

Dramatic political, social, economic, and technological changes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries inspired modernization throughout the world. In the arts, the movement called Modernism was one response to those changes, and in retrospect overarching characteristics of this very diverse movement have been identified. This survey of twentieth century images selected from UMBC's Photography Collections provides evidence not only of those characteristics, but also some of the paradoxes of Modernism.

The reliance on the traditions of art is one of the paradoxes of Modernism. On the one hand, Modernism was an avant garde movement that looked to the future and was based upon an ideology of progress, yet, on the other hand, it was solidly rooted in tradition. A. Aubrey Bodine exemplifies this paradox, since his work grew out of traditional pictorial photography which relied heavily on lines of composition. Bodine was an inventive modernist, but he employed the techniques of the traditional pictorial photography from which his work evolved. While celebrating modern industry, he printed clouds into skies devoid of texture. Modernists challenged pictorialist style, yet incorporated its principles into their works. Similarly, modernist photographers argued that the painterly productions of the pictorialists were passé, yet their sharply focused still life and landscape images often emulated 19th century pictorialism.

Among the photographers whose work will be presented are Bernice Abbott, Ansel Adams, Manuel Alvarez-Bravo, Jim Amos, Diane Arbus, A. Aubrey Bodine, Brassai, Richard Buswell, Harry Callahan, Michela Caudill, Chim, Imogen Cunningham, Cary Beth Cryor, Robert D'Alesandro, Judy Dater, William Eggleston, Elliot Erwitt, Walker Evans, Jan Faul, Robert Fichter, Eric Fischl, Robert Frank, Roland Freeman, Lee Friedlander, Sally Gall, Ralph Gibson, Mildred Grossman, Heinz Hajek-Halke, Philippe Halsman, Ralph Hattersly, Robert Heinecken, Eikoh Hosoe, Richard Jaquish, Barbara Kasten, Richard Kirstel, George Krause, David Lebe, Jenny Lynn, Ralph Meatyard, Ray Metzker, Martin Miller, Roger Miller, Lisette Model, Barbara Morgan, Joan Netherwood, Arnold Newman, Dorothy Norman, Starr Ockenga, Bart Parker, Gilles Peress, Irving Henry Phillips, Sr., David Plowden, Charles Pratt, August Sander, Jaromir Stephany, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Walter Rosenblum, Christian Schad, Aaron Siskind, Neal Slavin, Ralph Steiner, Paul Strand, George Andrew Tice, Philip Trager, Barbara Traub, Jerry Uelsmann, Edward Weston, Minor White, William Williams, Gary Winogrand, John Wood and Barbara Young.

Gallery Information
The Albin O. Kuhn Gallery serves as one of the principal art galleries in the Baltimore region. Objects from the Special Collections Department, as well as art and artifacts from all over the world, are displayed in challenging and informative exhibitions for the University community and the public. Moreover, traveling exhibitions are occasionally presented, and the Gallery sends some exhibits on tour to other institutions nationwide. Admission to the Gallery and its programs is free.

Acknowledgements
The presentation of this exhibition is supported in part by a program grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Baltimore County Commission on Arts & Sciences.

Hours
Sunday: 1 P.M. – 5 P.M.
Monday: 12 P.M. – 4:30 P.M.
Tuesday: 12 P.M. – 4:30 P.M.
Wednesday: 12 P.M. – 4:30 P.M.
Thursday: 12 P.M. – 8 P.M.
Friday: 12 P.M. – 4:30 P.M.
Saturday: 1 P.M. – 5 P.M.

Telephone
UMBC Artsline (24 hour recorded message): 410-455-ARTS
General Gallery information: 410-455-2270

Web
UMBC Arts & Culture Calendar: http://www.umbc.edu/arts
Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery: http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/gallery/
UMBC News Releases: http://www.umbc.edu/news

Images for Media
High resolution images for media are available online:
http://www.umbc.edu/newsevents/arts/hi-res/
or by email or postal mail.

The images in this release:
Walker Evans, Untitled [Genesee Valley Gorge], n.d., silver gelatin print
Robert Fichter, A New Photograph of a Successful Weapon of War, 1970, cyanotype and gum bichromate
David Plowden, Susquehanna River Bridge, Market Street Bridge, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1969, silver gelatin print

Directions
UMBC is located approximately 10 minutes from downtown Baltimore and 20 minutes from I-495.
-- From Baltimore and points north, proceed south on I-95 to exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Walker Avenue Garage or Albin O. Kuhn Library.
-- From I-695, take Exit 12C (Wilkens Avenue) and continue one-half mile to the entrance of UMBC at the intersection of Wilkens Avenue and Hilltop Road. Turn left and follow signs to the Walker Avenue Garage or Albin O. Kuhn Library.
-- From Washington and points south, proceed north on I-95 to Exit 47B. Take Route 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Walker Avenue Garage or Albin O. Kuhn Library.
-- Daytime metered visitor parking is available in the Walker Avenue Garage. Visitor parking regulations are enforced on all University calendar days.