Martin Benjamin, professional photographer and Union College Professor of Visual Arts, opened his most recent exhibition in the Mandeville Gallery on March 24. Widely received, “Bull’s Eye: New Photographs by Martin Benjamin” continues Benjamin’s artful tradition of capturing the subtleties of his surroundings and chosen subjects.
The exhibition is a compilation of recent photographs from Professor Benjamin’s terms abroad in Vietnam (2007) and Italy (2010). Vintage shots from his 2009 photography publication, Atomic Age, also occupy the borders of the gallery.
Benjamin describes a subsidiary from the main display panels as the “Artifacts Room.” Additional photographs from his travels are included, while samples from his recent “Politicians and Criminals” series (shot for the Daily News last summer) also decorate the glass display case.
In the center of this element of the presentation is a quote from an interview Benjamin happened upon while watching the news in Hanoi, Vietnam. In regards to the imminent vote in an African country, the individual was cited as saying, “The problem with elections is that they always elect a politician.”
Set by this tone, the professor’s candid shots of American politicians capture a sense of humanity even through the façade of corruption. The same holds true throughout the collection, as each photograph expresses an essence the eye alone cannot always see.
Bull’s Eye entails singular images that tell their own story, ranging from Benjamin’s action shots of horse racing to the cleverly framed “WEEGEE” water pistol of his youth.
But it is also the diptychs, two images paired with each other, which create another type of statement. Whether contrasting “ancient and modern, modest and commercial, or old and young,” Benjamin’s juxtapositions give perspective to one photograph through the lenses of another.
One such example can be found in the image of a young Vietnamese woman simultaneously using two cell phones “in a village outside of Hanoi [Vietnam] that specializes in making special ornate wooden birdcages.” The contrast with the photograph featured below her of a “bunker underground from the Presidential Palace in Ho Chi Minh City where South Vietnamese leaders could be secure while still in contact in the event of bomb attacks” creates a quite remarkable presentation.
In the first shot, the woman lives in a traditional village, but communicates using modern technology. In the second photograph, an understanding of the location invokes images of the traditional nature of the Presidential Palace, but with the realization that the threat of bombing, and the use of telephones themselves, is quite a modern one.
As Benjamin states, “The juxtaposition of the system of telecommunications then and now is interesting.” These contrasts also demonstrate a similarity between the photographs that would be difficult to observe separately because of their substantial differences in setting.
Whether it is being entranced by a market in Bac Ha, Vietnam; gazing longingly at the Arno River in Florence, Italy; viewing the Manhattan skyline from the rooftop of Ellis Island; or smiling at the dining couple in Cannes, France; Martin Benjamin’s exhibition creates a sense of awe for the photographs themselves and wonder at the artistry through which the images were captured.
As a recent press release describes, “The photographs call to mind both nostalgic and emotional responses to the people and environments the artist encounters.” The very title of the exhibition, “Bull’s Eye,” conjures up images of yesteryear through reflections on Benjamin’s first Kodak Bull’s-Eye Brownie Camera from childhood.
Open to the public daily, Bull’s Eye: New Photographs by Martin Benjamin is showing in the Mandeville Gallery of the Nott Memorial through May 22, and serves as an artistic display of both local and international significance.
For more information on Professor Benjamin’s photography, please visit his website: http://www.martinbenjamin.com, or contact the Mandeville Gallery directly at (518) 388-6729.
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