Concept
Projections of Reality presents a broad selection of the most provocative documentary multimedia being made today. Through the work of 22 contemporary storytellers fluent in still photography and video, this show challenges conventions of visual narrative while also giving definition and thrust to the ordinarythus rendering it extraordinary.The diverse imagery in Projections of Realitytender, quotidian, violentrepresents a departure point for new story lines, and serves as an incisive tool for prying open and translating mystery, meaning and purpose. We are all claimed by the world, especially the one before us now, characterized as it is by economic convulsion and violenceand saturated in visual stimuli. The artists in this exhibition are both guides and companions for this state of affairs. They travel an ambiguous border region between journalism and art, carrying their encounters back to share with us.
What caught our attention with the work displayed here, and brought us back to it again and again, even when it wasnt directly in front of us? Of course the material tells us powerful storiesabout a place, a role, a person, a community. But even better is how these finished pieces have the grace to allow questionsquestions about the meaning and particular circumstances of the subjects in focus. Therein lies the pull.
Equally important, Projections of Reality suggests a new role for photography in the context of the ever-changing media market. It features multi-channel video installations, web-based projects, and interactive documentaries, some of them produced especially for the show.
This changing role, which uses new media to create new modes of expression, communicates experience with an audience more directly than ever. The viewer becomes the interviewer, face to face with a subject in a personal encounter. In the particular rapport sparked by such an exchange, what is familiar appears unexpectedly fresh, while unfamiliar subjects, distant places, and strangers inner worlds draw closer, becoming more understandable.
It is our hope that this documentary journey brings us closer in understanding to each other.
-- Liza Faktor & James Wellford
