Contemporary Photography

CONTEMPORARY ART

Pete Souza

Obama: An Intimate Portrait
An Intimate Portrait of a historic presidency through the eyes of former Chief Official White House photographer Pete Souza. Souza did more than document an American President, he invited America into the home of an intelligent, compassionate, graceful and complex man. For eight years Americans were a part of the Obama family. The exhibition features 50 photographs that were personally chosen by Pete Souza. His photographs put viewers in Obama’s daily life; we felt the tension in the situation room, we laughed as Obama played tricks on his staff, and cried when The President bent down to let an African American boy touch his hair.

John A. Chakeres

First Fleet: NASA's Space Shuttle Program 1981-1986
The First Fleet project began more than 30 years ago with the launch of the first Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981. Between 1981 and 1986 NASA had four operational Space Shuttles, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. Those four vehicles comprised the first fleet of manned spacecraft. John A. Chakeres saw an opportunity for a long-term photographic project to document the Space Shuttle and contacted NASA with his proposal. These never-before-seen images represent a unique time in the history of human spaceflight which was filled with excitement and optimism about the future of space travel.

©Mariana Cook

Justice: Faces of the Human Rights Revolution
Why do some people have the courage to look injustice squarely in the face when so many of us avert our gaze? Mariana Cook set out in 2010 to photograph and interview the people who feel so passionately about fairness and freedom that they will risk their livelihoods, even their lives, to pursue justice.

The Glow of Paris: The Bridges of Paris at Night
An exhibition spanning the history of the Paris bridges, The Glow of Paris presents stunning silver-gelatin nighttime photographs. Beginning in 2008 and over the next five years American Photographer Gary Zuercher pursued his project of photographing the bridges that cross the Seine in Paris. He shot only at night, on film and in black and white. When the shooting was finished Zuercher then spent another year researching and documenting the fascinating history of each of those bridges.
The photographs capture many of the beloved landmarks of the city, including Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower.

Campesino Cuba: Photographs by Richard Sharum
Campesino Cuba features black and white photographs by American photographer Richard Sharum, depicting the the lives of isolated farmers, or "Campesinos", and their intertwined relationship with the land they depend on. The histories of these communities have formed the backbone of Cuba, and yet they are rarely depicted in photographic representations of the country.

Shanghai 1986: Historic Cultural Exchange Between US and China
While working as a staff photographer at the San Francisco Examiner in 1980, Mark Chester was assigned to cover the signing of the San Francisco Sister City Agreement, with then Mayor Dianne Feinstein and Shanghai Vice-Mayor Zhao Xingzhi. Shanghai and San Francisco became sister cities on Jan. 28, 1980, one year after China and the United States established diplomatic relations.
Inspired by the cultural exchange opportunities, in 1986 Mark Chester submitted a proposal to travel to Shanghai to commemorate the historic signing and share with the city of San Francisco the culture of Shanghai.

©Nancy Baron

Into the Light: Survivors of the Holocaust
Horrified to see the numbers of Holocaust deniers, and intolerance in general, grow in recent years. Nancy Baron began documenting Holocaust Survivors in the Palm Springs area. Inspired with their strength, courage, and resilience, Baron was determined to share their stories and portraits so that viewers can bear witness to these Survivors of one of history’s worst atrocities.

Awkward Family Photos
AWKWARD FAMILY PHOTOS the exhibition aims to explore the perfectly imperfect moments that come with the family experience and provide a place for people to celebrate the awkwardness while taking comfort in the fact that their family is not alone.

PULSE Nightclub: 49 Elegies
PULSE Nightclub: 49 Elegies is a series made to honor and commemorate each of the 49 people massacred at the LGBTQ PULSE nightclub in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016. John Gutoskey uses symbols that are personal to him and his experience as a gay man, and combines them with other cultural and spiritual iconography that are more universally understood to create the 49 visual elegies or poems

DIGNITY: Tribes in Transition
Dana Gluckstein captures the fleeting period of world history where traditional and contemporary cultures collide. The stunning black and white portraits of Indigenous Peoples pay homage to these imperiled cultures…signaling our collective interdependence and fragility.