Thursday, June 02, 2011

Strange But True


Carl Hammer Gallery in River North will have a great show open this Friday night linking large scale Polaroid photographs by William Wegman of his photogenic Weimarner dogs with vintage sideshow banners.  Info from the gallery....

In 1998, Carl Hammer Gallery loaned a large number of vintage sideshow banners to the renowned photographer, William Wegman.  Based on his creative interpretation, the artist photographed his favorite subjects against these banners in his inimitable style and titled the newly developed series of color Polaroid photographs Strange But True.  We are pleased to pair this remarkable body of work with select examples of vintage sideshow banners by master banner painters Fred Johnson and Snap Wyatt in offering up a summer exhibition by the same title.  The resulting effects achieved in this pairing not only portray Wegman's brilliant sense of humor, but display an aesthetic kinship with the imagism of artists uniquely outside of the mainstream and pushes beyond the constraints - formal, social, and personal - that weigh on Western art and society.

William Wegman, Snap Wyatt, and Fred Johnson: Strange But True
740 N Wells St
Chicago, IL

Opening reception: Friday, June 3, 2011
6 to 8 pm
On view through August 26, 2011

No comments: