Seeing Things

“The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe.” John Berger

When you engage in the act of ‘seeing’, you do so through the lens of your own thoughts and beliefs. ‘Seeing’ is a unique experience. This selection of photographs encourages each of us to think about how we see the world. The images ask you to consider how what you see is altered by your thoughts, beliefs, and experience. What you see is not the same as what I see…

-Wassan Al-Khudhairi, Hugh Kaul Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

 

Exhibition checklist:

Les Hélicoptères
Robert Doisneau
1972
gelatin silver print
Gift of John C. Rudolf
1984.52.12

Red Rug and Gun
William Eggleston
1981 – 1982
dye transfer print
Museum purchase
1986.219.3

Tornado Tree #4
Ke Francis
1989
gelatin silver print
Museum purchase with funds provided by Dr. and Mrs. David Sperling in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Erdreich, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Russell, Dr. and Mrs. Waid Shelton, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Walton, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Marx, Dr. and Mrs. Carvel Woodall, Dr. and Mrs. Donald Silberman, Ms. Carole Simpson, Dr. and Mrs. Peter Bunting, Dr. and Mrs. Crawford Owen, Dr. and Mrs. Marshall Garrett, Dr. and Mrs. E. O. Templeton, and Dr. and Mrs. Jimmie Harvey
1991.1106

Front Porch, Durham, North Carolina
Margaret Sartor
1994
gelatin silver print
Gift of the artist
1997.11

People’s Park
Diana C. Young
1992
gelatin silver print
Gift of the artist
1997.21

Untitled, from the series “Modern Romance”
David Levinthal
1987
Polaroid SX-70 print
Gift of Michael Levinthal with additional funds provided by the Collectors Circle for Contemporary Art
2002.142

Juxtaposed
Roger Ballen
2004
gelatin silver print
Collection of the Art Fund, Inc. at the Birmingham Museum of Art; Gift of the artist
AFI.83.2011

Untitled (Richie with Gun)
Artist: Bill Owens
1971
gelatin silver print
Collection of the Art Fund, Inc. at the Birmingham Museum of Art; Gift of the Jack and Rebecca Drake Collection
AFI.106.2015

Untitled (Girl with Handgun)
Artist: Bill Owens
1971
gelatin silver print
Collection of the Art Fund, Inc. at the Birmingham Museum of Art; Gift of the Jack and Rebecca Drake Collection
AFI.107.2015