Review by Kate Soczka
Something about viewing the photographs taken by Barbara Crane made me feel sneaky - like the feeling you get when reading your big sister's diary. The walls at The Stephan Daiter Gallery showcase a series of 4x5 Polaroids that Chicago native, Crane, took between 1980 and 1984. I could just picture her traipsing around Chicago's lakefront and street festivals snapping away candids of bra-less beauties and hip partygoers.
Most of the people in the photographs are clutching empty beer cups, or
a lover, or both. Viewing her work is kind of like looking through old
family photos; you laugh at the hairstyles and tube socks and think to
yourself: in 2040 will I look back and think I looked this ridiculous?
Then I realized that my parents lived in Chicago in the early 80's and
wondered if perhaps Crane captured them in a sweaty embrace on the
beach, and that stopped my daydreaming. However, the truth is, since
all the photos are shot at such close range, you feel like you are at
the party. People are living it up, as we Chicagoans know we MUST do
in the two warm months we have, and Crane has captured it. The photos
are alive with a dash of sexy. They are animated expressions,
outrageous laughter, and intimate gestures all playing out in public
spaces.
The fact that these are Polaroids indicate she didn't crop them to
bring the focus to a certain point - she shot them that way; a mark of
a great shooter with quick reflexes. Crane's artist statement reads,
"I work impulsively and the quick feedback of the instant picture is in
tune with this energetic style of photographing. This immediacy of
result shortens the time it would take my ideas to grow visually,
technically and emotionally. What takes a summer of work with Polaroid
materials would take three years of picture taking and darkroom time to
bring my ideas to fruition. This process complements my life long
experimental way of working." The entire area of the photo is utilized
and chosen, seemingly random yet exuberant. I'll admit after viewing
a room full of nicely framed Polaroids, you can't help but think, "Hey,
I could do this. It doesn't seem that hard." The price points for
Crane's work ranged from $2,000 to $4,500, which did make me raise an
eyebrow at first. The documentation of Chicago at this time, paired
with the photographic skill and immense energy each photo exudes may
have something to do with it.
Crane taught for 28 years at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago
and is recognized as one of Chicago's most experimental and prolific
photographers. The Private Views - Public Spaces exhibit differs from
the greater majority of Crane's work, which consists mainly of black
and white still life images of nature or industrial shots of Chicago
buildings and landscapes, some of which are also displayed in the
Stephen Daiter Gallery, and equally as compelling.
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