Staged

Photography is often thought of as a means to capture the fleeting occurrences and unpredictable juxtapositions of the visual world. But what happens when photographers choose to work within a single enclosed space, exercising near-complete control over everything that happens in front of their lens? Although this premise may sound limiting, artists have long used the blank slate of the studio to create an endless variety of moving, dynamic, and daring images.

This exhibition brings together photographs from the nineteenth century through the present day, exploring ways that photographers—and sometimes their subjects—have worked and played within the confines of the studio. Drawn primarily from the museum’s permanent collection, Staged features studio portraits ranging from the austere to the fantastical, as well as advertising and editorial photography, still lifes, and images of scientific experimentation. Highlights include work by Mickalene Thomas, Samuel Fosso, Berenice Abbott, Rachel Stern, Irving Penn, Cindy Sherman, and many more.