A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words

Last Saturday, March 20th, I checked out the AIPAD Photography Show at the Park Avenue Armory. I’ll be the first to admit that I know next to nothing about photography, despite having worked for a magazine for two and a half years. Honestly, I was always in awe about how long photo shoots took – a full day and only seven shots? Really? But, being the art enthusiast that I am, and given the prestigious reputation of the show (the longest-running and foremost exhibition of fine art photography; this was its 30th anniversary), I marched up the Armory steps ready to soak up everything the exhibition had to offer.

A Mapplethorpe self portrait; priced upon request

Home to more than 70 of the world's leading fine art photography galleries, the AIPAD show presents a wide range of museum-quality work including contemporary, modern and 19th century photographs, as well as photo-based art, video and new media. Galleries from all over the world displayed their most prized works, and let me say, awe-inspiring does not do the exhibitors justice. My patient tour guide was kind enough to point out the breathtaking blacks and deep textures of the landscapes, the usual-suspect exhibitors (Diane Arbus, Edward Weston, and even a Robert Mapplethorpe portrait – so exciting!), and the impressive techniques of the vintage prints, some dating back as early as the 1800’s. Mostly there was a lot of nodding and “mm-hmming,” but I really felt like I learned a few things.

A Ragnar Axelsson Icelandic landscape, as only he can truly capture it...

I did come away with a greater appreciation for photography as an art; the technicality of it is something that I will probably never understand, but the beauty of it is something that even the most budding aesthete can relate to. I discovered an assortment of new photographers whose work I look forward to following (Ragnar Axelsson, an Icelandic photographer with a penchant for Icelandic landscapes, or David Michael Kennedy’s poignant Native American portraits), and a list of photography books a mile long that I can’t wait to leaf through at my local bookstore. Moral of the story: just because you don’t know about something, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it!

One of David Michael Kennedy's powerful portraits

--Rachel Lexier