Barbara Morgan, Martha Graham: Lamentation, 1935, gelatin silver print on paper, image: 12 × 17¼ inches, sheet: 15 × 19 inches. Syracuse University Art Galleries, gift of Hobson Harrell, SUAC 1984.
March 6–25, 2020 @ Asheville Art Museum
ASHEVILLE, NC — The Asheville Art Museum announces the opening of two exhibitions.Dancing Atoms: Barbara Morgan Photographsand AndyWarhol: Silver Cloudsis on display in the Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall March 6-May 25.
"We're excited to bring these first traveling exhibitions to our newly renovated space for both the community and visitors to enjoy," says Asheville Art Museum Executive Director Pamela Myers, adding, "It's especially meaningful to have one of our first traveling exhibitions feature an artist such as Morgan who was so deeply influenced by the creativity in our region through her connection toBlack Mountain College."
"Barbara Morgan and Andy Warhol were clearly inspired by movement when they created these works," says Assistant Curator Hilary Schroeder who coordinated these exhibitions for the museum. "Observing Morgan's photographs allows the viewer to envision the dance itself, while Warhol actively invites us to experience our own small dance as we traverse through the floating clouds."
Dancing Atomsfeatures more than 30 photos thatexplore the legacy of renowned dance photographer Barbara Morgan and her lifelong observation of the "dancing atoms" that inspired her work.Capturing motion can be daunting for photographers, but Morganexcelled at this aspectby experimenting with and developinglighting and printing techniquesthat dance photographers still use today.
Morgan captured landscapes, children,and innovative photomontages, but her true legacy lives in her study of American modern dance pioneers from the 1930s and 1940s, with a special focus on dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. Dance criticfor The New YorkerJoan Acocellaasserted inSmithsonian magazine that the photos Morgan took of Graham“were the greatest dance photographs ever made in America.”
Category: Exhibits
