November 5, 2021–February 6, 2022
Shane Lavalette (American, born 1987), Will with Banjo, 2011, pigmented inkjet print, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, commissioned with funds from Paul Hagedorn and the Friends of Photography, 2012.27.12. © Shane Lavalette.
In 1996, the High launched Picturing the South, a commissioning initiative that taps contemporary photographers to create new work about the South’s rich cultural and geographic landscape. Since then, this ongoing initiative—which is entirely unique among American museums in its longevity, commitment to place, and diversity of artistic perspectives—has produced a total of sixteen extraordinary bodies of work, some of which are among the most iconic photography projects of the last quarter century. For example, Sally Mann made the major shift from portraiture to landscape; Dawoud Bey created contemplative portraits of Atlanta high school students; Richard Misrach began a ten-year study of the Mississippi River’s industrialized corridor known as “Cancer Alley”; and Alec Soth made the first photographs in what would become his remarkable series Broken Manual. Celebrating a quarter century of artistic innovation, Picturing the South: 25 Years will gather work from each of the completed commissions—including signature bodies of work by Alex Webb, Kael Alford, Martin Parr, Shane Lavalette, Abelardo Morell, Debbie Fleming Caffery, Mark Steinmetz, and Alex Harris—and debut new commissions by An-My Lê, Sheila Pree Bright, and Jim Goldberg. By examining the full range of these works, this exhibition presents a compelling and layered archive of our region and affirms the High’s leading role in promoting and shaping American photography.
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Thursday, November 4
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Visit high.org/picturing-the-south-preview for details.
