Eyes on the Street

Featuring ten acclaimed artists, most newly showing in this region, Eyes on the Street re-imagines the genre of street photography and demonstrates how cameras shape our perceptions of cities. While today’s discussion of cameras in public spaces most likely revolves around surveillance tactics and first-amendment rights, Eyes on the Street illuminates how cameras help us to comprehend the complex and diverse urban environment. The show includes images from large cities around the world, such as New York, San Francisco, Beirut, Paris, Tokyo and Istanbul. The artists in Eyes on the Street deliberatively make use of the camera’s technical capabilities, adopting techniques such as high-speed, high-definition lenses; multiple or simultaneous exposures; and “impossible” film shots or appropriated surveillance-camera footage. For example, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, who lives and works in New York City, uses a strobe flash to highlight and isolate people in Times Square, as shown in his Head #1 (2001). Additional artists exhibited are Olivo Barbieri (Italian; lives and works in Modena, Italy); Jason Evans (British; lives and works in London); Paul Graham (British; lives and works in NYC); Mark Lewis (Canadian; lives and works in London); Jill Magid (American; lives and works in NYC); James Nares (American; lives and works in NYC); Barbara Probst (German; lives and works in NYC); Jennifer West (American; lives and works in Los Angeles); and Michael Wolf (German; lives and works in Paris and Hong Kong). Organized by CAM Associate Curator of Photography Brian Sholis.