This time of year we are all thinking about our Thanksgiving feast. Well, this show is a different type of feast, a feast for the eyes. Most people are familiar with the iconic National Geographic photograph of a young Afghan girl with piercing green eyes. Taken in a Pakistani refugee camp, the photo is an incredible mix of beauty and terror. A young pretty girl, the green eyes, frightened, intense, the rich color of her torn shawl make this image unforgettable. However, there are many other moments in this show that are perhaps not as famous, but are stunningly beautiful.
McCurry has an incredible eye for color, light, composition, an amazing ability to capture the essence of the person and place he is photographing. His style, immediately recognizable, captures the 'unguarded moment' when people are going about their daily routine in extraordinary places and often under extraordinary circumstances.
Although I've seen many of these photos in books, viewing them as large framed prints is a real treat. McCurry's eye shows us the beauty in a procession of nuns in Burma, of a boy running through narrow back streets in India, nomads in Afghanistan. His portraits are intimate, personal. You get a sense of what these peoples lives are like. He makes them real. I've always felt that although we may have different cultures, and language, people are still pretty much the same worldwide, and these photos are testament to this idea.
We see children playing football, a wedding celebration, fishermen, and mothers with babies. These images draw us in, show us our similarities, the human connection between all of us.
The exhibit runs until November 30 at the Peter Federman Gallery, Bergamont Station. Don't miss it.
Comments