Photographs - Aperture Foundation

Aperture Traveling Exhibitions
Aperture: Photographs
Photographs by various photographers
Dorothea Lange
Aperture: Photographs
Photographs by various photographers
Aperture was originally conceived, in 1952, to promote the appreciation of the art of photography. At first it published just Aperture magazine, but in the mid-1960s the Foundation
launched both its book program and a limited-edition print program, as part of and in support of its publishing activities—becoming the leading American photography publisher of
its generation. This exhibition tells the story of the evolution of the Foundation, through a
display of photographs from its print and fundraising programs made over a period of fifty
years. In the process, it charts the evolution of photography itself.
The need for a new photography magazine was identified during a conference about the
future of photography held at the Aspen Institute in 1951. Many of the leading lights of the
photography community attended, including Minor White, who became Aperture magazine’s founding editor and publisher. With cofounders including Ansel Adams, Dorothea
Lange, and curators and historians Beaumont and Nancy Newhall, White sought to cultivate the appreciation of photography as an art form. For the Aperture community, a fine
print was without question the ultimate expressive form for a great picture.
The first prints Aperture published were the initiative of White’s successor at Aperture,
Michael Hoffman. Hoffman had previously been White’s assistant, taking over from the
founding editor in 1964. He initiated Aperture’s first book—Edward Weston’s The Flame
of Recognition (1965), a special monographic issue of the magazine that he also published
in hardcover, with copies distributed through bookstores—and expanded into limitededition print publishing. The first print portfolio Aperture published, in 1967, was The
Mexican Portfolio, by the great twentieth-century master and perfectionist of the art of
the print, Paul Strand. Hoffman learned much from Strand, and the relationship between
Strand and Aperture became—and continues to be—more important to Aperture than any
other. The Mexican Portfolio was followed by a succession of other portfolios, all made by
great craftspeople.
Aperture’s limited-edition print program continues today as an integral part of its programming. Its print editions offer audiences the opportunity to own an “original” work,
often in smaller sizes—and larger quantities—and at a more affordable price than photographers’ gallery editions. Their sales help Aperture make related books, as well as its education and other programs, possible. And Aperture continues to innovate: for instance, with
artist commissions resulting in prints for sale (for the exhibitions Aperture Remix, 2012,
and The Photographer’s Playspace, 2014), and, in 2015, the launch of a print subscription
series linked to Aperture magazine.
Collectors who buy Aperture editions are critical members of its community. They support the photographers, and make Aperture’s projects possible.
—Chris Boot, executive director, Aperture Foundation
Aperture Foundation 547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001
212.505.5555 aperture.org
Contents:
The exhibition includes approximately 90 photographs in various sizes by: Diane Arbus, Bill
Armstrong, Olivo Barbieri, Letizia Battaglia, Jo
Ann Callis, Robert Capa, Michal Chelbin, William
Christenberry, Barbara Crane, Bruce Davidson,
Michael Flomen, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Paul Fusco,
Luigi Ghirri, Todd Hido, Eikoh Hosoe, Pieter Hugo,
Graciela Iturbide, Rinko Kawauchi, Eva-Fiore
Kovacovsky, Dorothea Lange, Annie Leibovitz,
Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao, Danny Lyon, Mary Ellen
Mark, Richard Misrach, Lisette Model, James
Mollison, Barbara Morgan, Richard Mosse, Vik
Muniz, Matthew Pillsbury, Sylvia Plachy, Robert
Rauschenberg, Sebastião Salgado, August Sander,
Stephen Shames, David Benjamin Sherry, Stephen
Shore, W. Eugene Smith, Edward Steichen, Paul
Strand, Penelope Umbrico, Nick Waplington,
Alex Webb, James Welling, Edward Weston,
Minor White, Hank Willis Thomas, and David
Wojnarowicz.
Approximate running feet:
200 linear feet
Participation fee:
Please call Annette Booth, exhibitions manager,
at (212) 946-7128 for rental fee. The host venue is
responsible for pro-rated shipping and insurance.
Availability:
2015 through 2019
Contact information:
Annette Booth
212.946.7128
abooth@aperture.org
aperture.org/traveling-exhibitions
Aperture: Photographs
Sample Works
Hank Willis Thomas
Bruce Davidson
Aperture Foundation 547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001
212.505.5555 aperture.org
Mary Ellen Mark
Aperture: Photographs
Sample Works
Eikoh Hosoe
Vik Muniz
LaToya Ruby Frazier
Aperture Foundation 547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001
212.505.5555 aperture.org