Special Exhibitions
Met Logo
Home
The Collection
Bullet Current Exhibitions
Bullet Upcoming Exhibitions
Bullet Past Exhibitions
Bullet Traveling Exhibitions

Search

Advanced Search



Surface Tension: Contemporary Photographs from the Collection
September 15, 2009–May 16, 2010
Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall for Modern Photography, 2nd floor
Photographs are often perceived as transparent windows onto a three-dimensional world. Yet photographs also have their own material presence as physical objects. Contemporary artists who exploit this apparent contradiction between photograph as window and photograph as object are featured in Surface Tension. The exhibition presents 30 works that play with the inherent tension between the flatness of the photograph and the often lifelike illusion of depth. Surface Tension highlights the ways in which artists use photographic and multi-media techniques to direct our attention to the physical surface of the photograph. Among the works featured are photographs that have been purposely scratched, burned, or painted on, as well as photograms made by placing objects directly on top of a sheet of photographic paper. The exhibition is drawn entirely from the permanent collection and features several recent acquisitions and other contemporary photographs never before shown at the Museum.


Remind Me About this Event
Email Event to a Friend




Home | Works of Art | Curatorial Departments | Collection Database | Features | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | Explore & Learn | The Met Store | Membership | Ways to Give | Plan Your Visit | Calendar | The Cloisters | Concerts & Lectures | Study & Research | Events & Programs | FAQs | Special Exhibitions | My Met Museum | Press Room | Met Podcast | Met Share | Site Index | Now at the Met | MuseumKids

Photograph Credits

Copyright © 2000–2009 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.  Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy.