Scottsdale, AZ - Lyle Ashton Harris imbues his photographs with the complexities of human life—its triumphs, horrors, heroics and prejudices. A key figure who helped define cultural politics in the art world in the 1990s, Harris reminds us of the gravity of images and the power at stake in their production. As Anna Deavere Smith wrote, “Lyle’s work questions the meaning of maleness and femaleness, not to mention of blackness and whiteness….Is it possible that, now, we can look at identity as a constellation: that each of us has inside of ourselves many fragments?”
 
Since gaining significant acclaim for his bold performance-based photographic self-portraits in which he explored the constructions of race and gender, Harris has continually expanded his artistic practice. He has moved from the self-as-subject to a broader interest in the anthropology of images—and the impact of globalization. His photographic work posses a conceptual and formal rigor also seen in his photojournalistic work for such esteemed institutions as The New York Times.
 
This exhibition spans 20 years of Harris’s prolific career and focuses on his use of collage as a means of revealing and documenting his methodology. Harris’s collage work follows a tradition of social commentary akin to art historical figures such as Hanna Hoch and Robert Rauschenberg. The installation will further viewers’ awareness of the conditional, culturally specific reading of photographic imagery and of Harris’s recombinant creative process.
 
Harris’ work takes the form of traditional portraiture, staged performance, documentation and collages. He deciphers the complex representations of such figures as Billie Holiday, Jeffrey Dahmer and Michael Jackson. After receiving the Rome Prize in 2000, Harris turned his camera on the crowds and riot police at Italian soccer matches. These images delve into the issue of spectatorship even more directly and are a study of race and class. The exhibition will debut Harris‘s most recent body of work inspired by his experiences in Ghana. A new large-scale wall collage, entitled Accra My Love, will consist of hundreds of Harris’ own images and video from Ghana combined with found materials and video footage. Harris is compelled by the tension between traditional African art and the infiltration of popular Western media culture. This will be Harris’ first move to incorporate video into his collage work, something he has been considering for many years and we are thrilled to be able to present this work at this exciting turning point in the artist’s career.
 
The exhibition will be accompanied by a dynamic publication, co-published with Gregory R. Miller & Co. It will include essays by exhibition curator Cassandra Coblentz, noted Ghanaian scholar Kwame Anthony Appiah and art historian Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, as well as a conversation between Harris and writer Senam Okudzeto. On exhibition feb 8 – may 27, 2008.
 
Organized by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.  Visit : www.smoca.org

 
Sponsored by Mikki and Stanley Weithorn; Yvette Craddock; Janis Leonard; and Linda and Sherman Saperstein.