PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE COLLECTION OF ROBERT E. JACKSON

Posted on 2021-11-15

Photography today is all about the self and the selfie. Contemporary photographs don’t reveal the identity of an individual as much as they become the identity of the individual. Photography has always been interested in the face, the body, the inner essence of the sitter, but how those characteristics are shown has changed over time as photographs shared in albums have given way to digital images shared on social media. These mostly vintage photographs collected by Seattle resident Robert E. Jackson show us portraiture and the body in many guises and spaces—as witnessed in the masked portraits and photo booths—as well as how the camera and the photographer manipulate and alter what is seen through the lens in a time before digital tools were accessible to the masses. They challenge and explore our sense of play as well as address our common humanity. All of us live life photographically.

Opposite – Photographer unknown

Exhibition runs through to December 9th, 2021

Photographic Center Nw
900 12th Avenue
Seattle,
WA 98122

pcnw.org