Staged photos take stage
by Gene Davis
The Denver Daily News
Staged photographs aren’t supposed to work.
Photography as a medium is supposed to capture an image exactly as it is. When something is purposefully set up beforehand (just think back to that cheesy family Christmas card photo) it comes off as inauthentic or, at the very least, a little cheesy.
But leave it to the talented artists showing over at the Michele Mosko Fine Art gallery to prove that a staged photograph can, in fact, be awesome.
As evidenced by the exhibit’s name, “Staged” features photographs that were set up in some way. Although each of the exhibit’s featured artists has their own distinct style, they all share similar views about what photography can do as an art form.
“They are painting, creating an artwork using photography as their tool,”said Michele Mosko, the gallery’s founder.
A highlight of the show is courtesy of Thomas Allen. For his two images on display, Allen cut out illustrations from the paperback cover of pulp fiction novels, placed the cut outs in a diorama setting, and photographed the result. The finished photographs have a surreal sensibility and, most importantly, are cool to look at.
Another “Staged”stand out is Dale O’ Dell’s bizarre images. Dell combined photographs he took as a kid with re shoots that he took as an adult. Thanks to Photoshop, Dell was able to create out-of-this world images that are also affordable. Dell’s two featured pieces are only $500 to take home.
“Staged” is an ideal show to be on display during Denver Art Week. Because photography is a medium that can automatically connect with anyone, “Staged” has a better shot of turning more Denverites into art fans than some abstract contemporary art exhibit.
“It was just kind of a way of bringing together some of my artists and introducing some new ones,” said Mosko. “It’s just a really fun show.”
Michele Mosko Fine Art exhibits prints by international artists John Baldessari, Louise Bourgeois, Enrique Chagoya, Christo, Helen Frankenthaler, Howard Hodgkin, Jasper Johns, Alex Katz, Sol LeWitt, Robert Motherwell, Wayne Thiebaud, Betty Woodman, Huang Yan, and others. Featuring photography by Jill Greenberg, Bob Kolbrener, and Amalie R. Rothschild.
Staged photographs aren’t supposed to work.
