Statement
Drawing on India’s long tradition of documentary photography, Looking Askance considers contemporary photographic work from the University of Chicago that responds to current events and media imagery. These works complicate what it means to “bear witness” by proposing a problematic relationship to the utopic premise that photographs can shift the social and political conditions they picture. From Matthew Connors’ photographs of Cairo made during the Arab Spring, to Valerie Snobeck’s video projection of the meticulous dismantling and recomposition of time, literally in the form of a watch; from Marco G. Ferrari’s video installation featuring footage of the Costa Concordia still half-submerged long after the cruise ship capsized in Italy in 2012, to Anna Elise Johnson’s window installation that responds to the liberalization of India’s markets and their move toward open foreign investment and privatization, Looking Askance addresses photography’s relationship to the production and dissemination of historical truth. Casting suspicion on the possibility of an absolute historical narrative, these artists examine our shifting understanding of documentary photography.
Artists include: Matthew Connors, Valerie Snobeck, Daniel Traub, Anna Elise Johnson, Marco G. Ferrari, Danielle Rosen, and Jayson M. Kellogg. Presented by GallerySKE, The University of Chicago Center in Delhi and Logan Center Exhibitions.
Presented by GallerySKE, The University of Chicago Center in Delhi and Logan Center Exhibitions. Curated by Laura Letinsky.
Events
Looking Askance: Artist Talk at the UChicago Center in Delhi
Date: October 27th. Tea and Registration from 5:30-6:00pm, with a Talk and Q&A from 6:00-7:00pm
Location: University of Chicago Center in Delhi, DLF Capitol Point, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi, India 110001
Participants: Laura Letinsky, Marco G. Ferrari, and Anna Elise Johnson
UChicago MFA Program Talk at Ashoka University
Date: October 27th
Location: Ashoka University, Plot No. 2, Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Kundli, Post Office Rai, Near Rai Police Station, Sonepat, Sonepat, Haryana 131028, India
Participants: Laura Letinsky, Marco G. Ferrari, Anna Elise Johnson, and Autumn Elizabeth Clark
UChicago Presentation at Shiv Nadar University
Date: October 28th
Location: Shiv Nadar University, NH91, Tehsil Dadri, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh – 201314
Participants: Laura Letinsky, Marco G. Ferrari, Anna Elise Johnson, and Autumn Elizabeth Clark
Artwork Exhibited
– Ferragosto: Installation II, 2012–October 16–November 10, 2015, 20 led monitors, sound, 5:45 min, loop, University of Chicago Center in Delhi, India, Marco G. Ferrari (personal, film, installation). Featured the film Ferragosto, 2012–13, hd color video, sound, 5:45 min, Italy. https://marcogferrari.com/work/ferragosto/ | installation: https://marcogferrari.com/work/ferragosto-installation-ii/
Press
– Exhibit invite. https://marcogferrari.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/looking-askance-gallery-ske-uchicago-india-2015-exhibit-invite-web-mgferrari-1.pdf
– UChicago website link. https://arts.uchicago.edu/logan-center/logan-center-exhibitions/archive/looking-askance
– Looking Askance: Talk by UChicago Faculty and Students from the Department of Visual Arts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE3CCC7lIf4
