Page 45 - Studio International - February 1973

Lanyon stood out. Recent directions concerned powerful egalitarian mainstream particular to spectator greater freedom of understanding.
with physics, chemistry and mechanics; photo-culture. Hiller's work is not simply a One by Jurt Benning, titled Distorted
examination of 'structured' observation and gesture of sympathy with this populist ethic, Geography, was a series of ten shots made
documentation; photography in relation to the however; it seems self-consciously sensible of throughout the day in a step-by-step panorama
transcience of events; were only scantily the subtle variations emerging from minimalism. of a London park. The other, by Gerry
represented (the polaroid, for example, was Most of the portraits are composed of a simple Whybrow, consisted of 32 pictures of Euston
curiously absent). And notable names were row of pictures taken on different machines, Station platforms taken at different times of day.
missing — Hilliard, Long, Dibbets, Kahlen, some in colour, some monochrome, where the Roger Burrows's light boxes represented an odd
Bescher, Arnatt and others whose work has subject exercises ultimate choice over the image use of photography: linear and geometric, his
posed more questions about the relationship of presented to the camera. kinetic Mobile Explorer II is based on moire
photography to art than many other exhibitors. The project of the Dutch photographer phenomena but raises new possibilities,
Of recent work the Automat Portraits by Ace Michel Szulc Krzysanowski, from its written reminding one of scientific, bubble-chamber
Possible (Susan Hiller) raised the most interesting description, appears to relate to a similar field. photographs and electron models. As against
questions : the matter-of-fact presentation, the For fourteen days before the show he visited this, Breakwell, McCall and Kohlhofer have
ease, accessibility and simplicity of the process, people living near the Arts Centre, choosing looked more impressive in other situations.
made it the only work which had a real them at random and photographing them in The exhibition in total raised no clear issues,
relationship with the popular use of their living rooms. The posed formalism of the nor did it make it possible to assess any
photography, or with the fascination exercised photographs, however, reflects a sameness `mainstream' development. The historical
during the past seventy years by the snapshot brought about by his imposed pictorial section proved the most engaging, particularly
`likeness'. The alchemy of photography has been preconceptions and excludes the participants in the fundamental experiments of Man Ray and
almost universally available since Eastman a way which seems to run counter to his the montages of Moholy Nagy. But even here
introduced the roll film and the Kodak in 1888, a intentions. There were also two other formally it was impossible to postulate with conviction
precise observational projects which by any consistent and central problems which
Gerry Whybrow attempting to eliminate subjectivity, although artists' photography has confronted. q
Euston Station Platforms 9, 10, II, 12 1971
Photograph, 38 x 25 cm using arbitrary procedures, allowed the MALCOLM LE GRICE

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