Whatever language we speak, we are confident that we know its structure. We assemble sentences using nouns, verbs, and adjectives in appropriate sequences to make ourselves understood. In Riding First Class on the Titanic, Nathan Lyons also employs sequences to create meaning but in a different form of language - a visual language. Unlike conventional documentary photography that explores a specific topic, location, or event Lyons assembles images made in many different cities over a period of decades. The public spaces he photographs are usually devoid of people, but filled with the utterances of the populace.
Reflecting his interest in found language and contemporary mark-making as evidenced in graffiti, billboards, storefront windows, and public and private displays, Lyons's carefully orchestrated images offer layered interpretations that challenge our cultural assumptions and beliefs. One level of resonance is established in the diptych in each frame, which is further extended by its visual association with an adjacent frame. Each sequence can be thought of as a movement within the larger symphony of Riding First Class on the Titanic. This exhibition and its accompanying book is a form of discourse that encourages multiple readings, each successive viewing revealing more.
Lyons began to photograph in 1945 mostly working with a view camera. In 1962, he switched to a 35mm camera and, along with Lee Friedlander, Garry Winogrand, and other photographers of his generation, he looked to contemporary culture for inspiration. Lyon's focus on America's social landscape led to an extended body of work, published in 1974 in the landmark photographic book Notations in Passing. The sequence of 96 photographs explored the variety of relationships and expansion of meaning made possible by sequenced images unaccompanied by text. Riding 1st Class on the Titanic!, composed of 200 photographs ranging in date from 1974 to the present, is a continuation of Notations in Passing. Nathan Lyons has exerted a profound effect on the field of photography for more than forty years. In addition to being an accomplished photographer, Lyons is a pioneering curator, educator, and arts administrator. He is the founder and director of the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York, which offers a graduate degree in visual studies. Lyons's photographs, writings, exhibitions, publications, and courses have had an enormous influence on countless students, artists, critics, and curators.
All photographs © Nathan Lyons.
The
Addison Gallery of American Art organized this exhibition with support
from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The ICP presentation is sponsored
by Kodak Professional.
