Presented in conjunction with Arnold Newman: Masterclass and the Summer Break 2013 festival, Double Portraits is an intervention into the Museum’s Permanent Collection. Featuring works by Jess T. Dugan, Goshka Macuga, Dulce Pinzón, Kurt Simonson, and Jaimie Warren, this spotlight exhibition situates contemporary photography alongside paintings from the 16th through early 20th centuries on view in the Museum’s European Art galleries.
Conceptually, these contemporary photographs relate to the strategy used by Arnold Newman in his late work. Just as Newman used homage to construct symbolic portraits, works by artists featured in Double Portraits explore the potential of creating portraits with intimacy, parody, and pastiche. These photographs each utilize strategies for presenting multiple identities, viewpoints, and authors within a single work.
Looking specifically at elements such as light, gesture, and pose, the juxtaposition of works from such different time periods illustrates certain visual tropes and archetypes in Western portraiture that have remained vital and consistent in representations of the figure across time.
Double Portraits debuts in conjunction with the opening of the Summer Break 2013 festival on August 1 and closes in conjunction with Arnold Newman: Masterclass on September 8.
