Extreme Exposure

Let's talk about Art!

What: The Annenberg Space for Photography
Current Exhibit: Extreme Exposure
When: exhibit opened in October 2010 and will run through April 17, 2011
Where: 2000 Avenue of the Stars #10, Los Angeles, CA, 90067
Hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm, closed Monday and Tuesday
Cost: General admission is free, you only have to pay for parking (on the weekend with validation it cost $1, I don't know about the weekdays)
Website (for more info): http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/

The current exhibit is called Extreme Exposure and is a combination of five photographers' works. Each of these photographers have done amazing work in some of the Earth's most extreme environments (hence the exhibit name!). The exhibit can be explored through a combination of photographs, video shorts that allow the photographers to explain or expand on the works you see, Microsoft surface tables, and a library with further reading and longer videos.

I was touched and awed by the works I saw in the exhibit.

• Clyde Butcher has done stunning black and white film work in Florida and throughout the nation's national parks. As I viewed many of his pieces I felt if I took one step forward I would be in the photograph and no longer observing it. If I closed my eyes I imagined I would hear the sounds of the swamp just from looking at his pictures of the Florida wetlands. 

• Paul Nicklen's photographs showed me animals throughout the coldest climates in the world, above and under water. His work is stunning and his methods are terrifying for anyone sane. From leopard seals to narwhal whales to polar bears to penguins he allowed me to see these animals in ways I have never seen before.

• Michael Nichols had some of the most amazing animal photographs I have ever witnessed. Tigers leaping from cliffs, owls swooping down for food, hippos surfing and so much more. He also created a phenomenal photograph of a redwood tree that stopped me in my tracks (you have to see it to believe it).

• Donna and Stephen O'Meara are a wife and husband team who have spent their lives taking stunning pictures of erupting volcanoes all over the globe. The colors and compositions are bold and beautiful.Their images of the volcano that erupted in Iceland in April of 2010 are gorgeous.

Each of these amazing photographers seemed to become part of their environment and it shows in their finished works. If you are in Los Angeles and have a chance to visit the exhibit I HIGHLY recommend it!

Happy Art-ing!