Diane Arbus opens
This Saturday the AGO honours the transformative acquisition of works by Diane Arbus with the opening of Diane Arbus: Photographs, 1956 – 1971, the first major solo exhibition of her works in Canada in almost three decades.
Diane Arbus, A young man and his girlfriend with hot dogs in the park, N.Y.C., 1971. Gelatin silver print, sheet: 50.8 x 40.6 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift of Jay Smith, 2016. Copyright © Estate of Diane Arbus.
The works of legendary photographer Diane Arbus – part of the AGO’s 2016 landmark acquisition – will go on view this Saturday. Diane Arbus: Photographs, 1956 – 1971 opens in the Sam and Ayala Zacks Pavilion on Level 2 and showcases one of the most significant collections of Arbus’s photographs. Curated by Sophie Hackett, the AGO’s Curator of Photography, the exhibition highlights 15 years of Arbus’s artistic evolution and features 150 captivating images, presented chronologically.
Throughout her career the famed American photographer revolutionized portraiture, making striking black and white photographs of a wide range of subjects. Couples, children, nudists, circus performers and celebrities are among the diverse individuals featured in her works.
Getting her start with her husband Allan Arbus producing photographs for fashion magazines – he as photographer, she as stylist – Diane Arbus would eventually find her greatest sense of purpose behind the camera. It was during the 1960s that she rose to prominence as a photographer, publishing her photographs in magazines like Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar. Arbus died in 1971, cutting short a career that has forever changed the field of photography.
This Friday, in anticipation of the exhibition’s opening the next day, you’ll have the chance to become more acquainted with Arbus and her work through two exclusive screenings of A Slideshow and Talk by Diane Arbus in the AGO’s Jackman Hall. Originally recorded in 1970, the film features the late photographer discussing a number of her works in intimate detail. In addition, she shares a number of other images, snapshots and clippings from her own collection, further illuminating her artistic approach. This film was compiled and edited in 2005 by Neil Selkirk, Doon Arbus and Adam Shott, using original materials from the Diane Arbus Archive.
For more insight on the life and career of Diane Arbus, on March 13 the AGO will welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Hilton Als for a talk informed by his extensive research on her work. And on April 8, Sophie Hackett will discuss this exhibition in the context of Arbus’s broader exhibition history, also in Jackman Hall.
Tickets for A Slideshow and Talk by Diane Arbus are available now. Screenings for the film will take place on Friday, February 21, at 6 pm and 8 pm in Jackman Hall.
Diane Arbus: Photographs, 1956 – 1971 , opens February 22 on Level 2 in the Sam and Ayala Zacks Pavilion at the AGO.
Admission to the AGO Collection and all special exhibitions is always free for AGO Members, AGO Annual Pass holders and visitors 25 and under.
