See Through: Windows and Mirrors in Twentieth-Century Photography brings together a group of images that are doubly framed—once by the camera lens and again by the border of a mirror or window. By refracting and distorting, revealing and concealing, these reflective and transparent surfaces both draw attention to the photographer’s efforts to frame the world and expose the contingent nature of reality. Highlights from the exhibition include works by Eugène Atget, Robert Doisneau, Elliott Erwitt, Walker Evans, André Kertész, Joanne Leonard, Danny Lyon, and Joel Meyerowitz. By extending the limits of perception, these witty and provocative works invite us to see [through to] new visual possibilities.
Lead support for See Through: Windows and Mirrors in Twentieth-Century Photography is provided by the Herbert W. and Susan L. Johe Endowment.
Images
Elliott Erwitt, Cracked Glass with Boy—Colorado, 1955, gelatin silver print. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of Gerald Lotenberg, 1981/2.194.2, © Elliott Erwitt / Magnum Photos
Eugène Atget, Men's Fashions, 1925, gelatin silver print. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Museum purchase, 1974/1.107
Walker Evans, Penny Picture Display, Savannah, 1936, gelatin silver print. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift from the Collection of David S. Rosen MD, MPH, 2013/2.130
Joanne Leonard, Winged Ones, 1987, gelatin silver print. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of the artist, 2016/2.19, courtesy of Joanne Leonard
Wynn Bullock, Self-Portrait, 1971, gelatin silver print. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of The 831 Photographic Gallery, 1972/1.153, © 1971/2018 Bullock Family Photography LLC. All rights
reserved.