News
A View of One’s Own opening tomorrow!
August 10, 2017
WANDERING ROME
A New Exhibition Compares Photographic Perspectives on Rome
The Arthur Ross Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania is pleased to present A View of One’s Own—Three Women Photographers in Rome: Esther Boise Van Deman, Georgina Masson, Jeannette Montgomery Barron (August 11 – December 10, 2017). Organized last fall by the American Academy in Rome (AAR), the exhibition features photographs by American women in Rome from three different generations, documenting the Eternal City and its urban transformation over more than a century, from the Belle Époque to today. The photographs also tracks the emergence of photography as an independent medium—evolving from a documentary aid to a vehicle for subjective, even gendered expression in the digital age. The Arthur Ross Gallery is the exclusive U.S. venue for this exhibition. ARG’s Director Lynn Marsden-Atlass says: “The Arthur Ross Gallery is very pleased to collaborate with the American Academy in Rome to present for the first time in the U.S. these rare and insightful photographs by three groundbreaking women photographers.†Drawn from the Photographic Archive of the American Academy in Rome, A View of One’s Own features three American protagonists: archaeologist Esther Boise Van Deman, who photographed Rome and its surroundings in the early 1900s; Georgina Masson, author of the classic guidebook, The Companion Guide to Rome, that has shaped foreigners’ experiences of Rome since the 1950s; and contemporary photographer Jeannette Montgomery Barron, whose images capture glimpses of Rome as seen by an American living abroad in the Eternal City, folding them into a wandering, meditative reverie. Seen in succession against a photographic landscape of Rome defined for the most part by men, these images posit another way of seeing the city’s history. Taken by female flâneurs, empirical observations of bricks and mortar progressively dissolve into pure, evanescent experience. “The work of these three photographers reflects different periods in the evolution of the modern city of Rome and the history of photography itself,†said Mark Robbins, President of the American Academy in Rome. “The presentation at the Arthur Ross Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania brings these images to new audiences and underscores the continuing impact of the city of Rome in our conception of the past and the future.†A View of One’s Own is curated by Lindsay Harris, Peter Benson Miller, and Angela Piga, and is accompanied by a comprehensive, fully illustrated catalogue, published by AAR, with essays by Robbins, André Aciman, and the curators. At the Arthur Ross Gallery, the exhibition was organized by Lynn Marsden-Atlass, and will be accompanied by a variety of related programming: Wednesday, September 6 @ 5:30 PM LECTURE: “A View of One’s Own: Women, Walking, and Photography in Rome†by Peter Benson Miller, Andrew Heiskell Arts Director, American Academy in Rome Wednesday, October 4 @ 5:30 PM LECTURE: “Watching the Light in Rome†by Dean Frederick Steiner, University of Pennsylvania School of Design and Paley Professor (1998 AAR Fellow) Friday, October 20 @ 12:00 PM CONCERT: Daedalus Quartet Beethoven Quartets Quartet no. 6 in Bb major, Op. 18 no. 6 and Quartet no. 7 in F major, Op. 59 no. 1 Wednesday, October 25 @ 5:30 PM CONVERSATION: Kaja Silverman and Clifford Ross Join us for an exciting evening with Kaja Silverman, Sachs Professor in Contemporary Art, and photographer/artist Clifford Ross. Wednesdays, October 11 and November 8 @ 2:00 PM ART RESET with Lauren Altman, MFA ‘18 Coffee and conversation Wednesday, October 18 @ 6:30 PM FILM SCREENING: “Louis Kahn’s Tiger City†Talk back with Sundaram Tagore Monday, November 1, 2017 @ 5:30 PM ARTIST TALK with Jeannette Montgomery Barron Every First Wednesday, September 6, October 4, November 1 and December 6 @ 12:00 PM 12 @ 12: A Tasty Art Nugget in 12 Minutes Flat! The exhibition is made possible in part by Richard Baron and Adi Shamir Baron. Additional support is provided by Mrs. Arthur Ross, the Patron’s Circle of the Arthur Ross Gallery, the Provost’s Interdisciplinary Arts Fund, the Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. THE ARTHUR ROSS GALLERY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA …. AMERICAN ACADEMY IN ROME / THE ROME PRIZE Founded in 1894, the American Academy in Rome is a leading international center for independent study and advanced research in the arts and humanities. A not-for-profit, privately funded institution, AAR annually offers the Rome Prize Fellowship and Italian Fellowships to a select group of artists and scholars, after an application process that begins each fall. The winners, selected by independent juries through a national competition process, are invited to Rome the following year to pursue their work in an atmosphere conducive to intellectual and artistic experimentation and interdisciplinary exchange. Fellowships are offered in the following categories: Literature, Music Composition, Visual Arts, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Design, and Historic Preservation and Conservation, as well as Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern, and Modern Italian Studies. To date, AAR has fueled critical thinking, research, and work for over 1,700 artists and scholars who are leaders in their fields and whose rich and significant output continues to fill museums, concert halls, libraries, and universities across the U.S., and around the world. In addition to the Rome Prize winners and Italian Fellows, AAR also invites a select group of Residents, Affiliated Fellows, and Visiting Artists and Scholars to work within this exceptional community in Rome. To learn more about the Rome Prize, Italian Fellowship or programs at the American Academy in Rome, please visit: www.aarome.org. The Arthur Ross Gallery is located at 220 South 34th Street, Philadelphia (located in the Fisher Fine Arts Library Building), and is free and open to the public. HOURS: Weekdays 10:00am – 5:00pm; Weekends 12:00pm – 5:00pm. Closed Mondays. Visit us on Facebook and Twitter. To reserve a group tour please contact us at sabrady@upenn.edu or 215-898-3617. Additional information is available at arthurrossgallery.org or 215.898.2083 ###