JoAnne Verburg: Present Tense

Yesterday I was able to stop into the Museum of Modern Art to see Present Tense, the exhibition of photographs by JoAnne Verburg. What I knew of Verburg’s work before visiting MoMA was very minimal. In fact, I hadn’t even heard of her until Alec made a post last October which described her as another underappreciated womam photographer - “Among the endless list of women who deserve more attention,” he said, “I’d like to highlight JoAnn Verburg.”

Moraines on Clear Creek, Valley of the Arkansas, Colorado, 1873
© William Henry Jackson

Clear Creek Reservoir, Colorado, 1977
© JoAnne Verburg / Mark Klett

Verburg first made her name in the 1970’s when she took part in the Rephotographic Survey Project along with Mark Klett and Ellen Manchester. The team set out to revisit the exact sites documented in historic images of the American West. Rephotographing these locations one hundred years later and pairing these contemporary images with those from the 19th century cause the viewer to think about the change in the landscape over time, but also the photographic objects before them (time itself).

Exploding Triptych, 2000
© JoAnne Verburg

Time also seems heavily present in the paneled photographs of olive trees where Verburg has shifted the planes of the view camera to create a sense of motion. The blur, or “movement,” in the images changes the environment to feel as if it’s all very fleeting.

Untited (Marvin and Maurice), 1995
© JoAnne Verburg

I wasn’t as enthralled as some people have been by the large-scale olive tree photographs or the David Hilliard-esque narrative scenes (many of which depict her husband, and poet, Jim Moore) displayed salon style in the gallery.

However, I absoultely fell in love with the selection of black and white photographs from her pool series. If anyone can find more of these online, please let me know.

What I suggest, as JoAnne is often considered to be one of those photographers that makes work which need to be viewed in the flesh, is that you stop into MoMA and see it all for yourself.

Until then, take a look at what the New York Times had to say about the exhibition (don’t miss the audio slideshow by Philip Gefter).

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JoAnne Verburg: Present Tense