“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
– Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.”
– George Burns
“I get by with a little help from my friends”
– The Beatles
In my experience, there is nothing that inspires more profound joy and more intense anxiety than family. So, it is not at all surprising that the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s expansive new exhibit (un)expected families provokes powerful emotions as it traces the way photographers have held a mirror up to America’s most adaptable, revised and remarkably robust institution, the family. An exciting selection of renowned photographers, including many from New England, comprise an incisive and moving survey, on view through June 17th, 2018. On Sunday, January 21st, 2018 from 2:00 – 3:00pm, Karen Haas, Curator of the Lane Collection and this exhibit, will lead a gallery talk that is free with admission to the museum.
Untitled (Hidden Mother), c. 1860s-70s Artist Unidentified Photograph, hand-colored tintype, Collection of Lee Marks and John C. DePrez, Jr., Shelbyville, Indiana, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Nayla, Ted, Alexandra, Nick, March 30, 1995, 1995 Elsa Dorfman (American, born in 1937) Photograph, Polaroid polacolor, Gift of Elsa Dorfman in memory of Dorothy Glaser, © Elsa Dorfman, 2013, all rights reserved, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The idea of family has evolved pretty radically since the first portrait photographers started documenting nuclear families in the mid-1800’s. Although the fashionable “hidden mother” portrait from the 1860’s and the 1995 family portrait by Cambridge photographer Elsa Dorfman both focus on children to the exclusion of their parents’ faces, that early formality has been replaced by a relaxed casualness and more overt signs of emotional attachment. Another major change is that more and more, we define family to include those with whom we feel an intimate bond, in addition to (or sometimes even instead of) those to whom we are related genetically. (un)expected families follows these changing attitudes and appearances with various groupings that highlight our most meaningful family influences, from immigration and religion to our favorite gathering places, like kitchens and cars.
Migrant Family, Texas, 1936 Dorothea Lange (American, 1895–1965) Photograph, gelatin silver print, Sophie M. Friedman Fund, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Hutterite Classroom, Gildford, MT, 2005 Christopher Churchill (American, born in 1977) Photograph, gelatin silver print, Gift of Elisa Fredrickson, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Thanksgiving, 1992 Tina Barney (American, born in 1945) Photograph, chromogenic print, Contemporary Curator’s Fund, including funds donated by Barbara and Thomas Lee © Tina Barney, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The clear, continuous thread running throughout the diverse allegiances, affiliations and settings depicted in (un)expected families is the primacy of the emotional bond. Whether a Muslim sisterhood in Chicago, a U.S. Marine in Afghanistan, drag queens in NYC or a couple of California teenage sisters, connectedness reigns. In capturing expressive bonds like romantic love, parental love, even sibling rivalry, these photographers testify to the basic human need for connection. The MFA, Boston has capitalized on its rich photographic archives, creating an exhibit that is at once enlightening, challenging, poignant, and funny to make a fine point: we crave a sense of family.
Ethel Shariff in Chicago, 1963 Gordon Parks (American, 1912–2006) Photograph, gelatin silver print, Gift of Gus and Arlette Kayafas in honor of Karen E. Haas, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
U.S. Marine Gysgt. Carlos “OJ” Orjuela, age 31, Garmsir, Helmand, Afghanistan, 2008 Louie Palu (Canadian, born in 1968) Photograph, inkjet print, Museum purchase with funds donated in honor of Linda and Alex Beavers, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Jimmy Paulette and Tabboo! in the bathroom, NYC, 1991 Nan Goldin (American, born in 1953) Photograph, Cibachrome print, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund for Photography, © Nan Goldin, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Misty Dawn and Alisa, Northern California, 1989 Jock Sturges (American, born in 1947) Photograph, gelatin silver print, Gift of Elizabeth Lea © Jock Sturges, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
(un)expected families invites viewers to consider traditional and alternative interpretations of family, an institution that has proven its endurance in the face of extraordinary change from the 1800’s to today. Whether viewing Dawoud Bey’s affecting portrait and testimonial of a black teenage boy longing for a relationship with his lost father, Boston photographer Sage Sohier’s nuanced portrait of her glamorous mother, or Julie Blackmon’s satirical take on raising baby, this exhibit has a pulsing heart and it is all about connections. The range of photographs on view challenge us to empathize with the diverse ways people express our common desire for a family. Are we there yet?
Kevin, from the series Class Pictures, 2005 Dawoud Bey (American, born in 1953) Photograph, chromogenic print, Museum purchase with funds donated by the Friends of Photography and The Heritage Fund for a Diverse Collection © Dawoud Bey, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Mum in her bathtub, Washington, D.C., 2002 Sage Sohier (American, born in 1954) Photograph, inkjet print, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Living New England Artists Purchase Fund, created by the Stephen and Sybil Stone Foundation, © Sage Sohier Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Baby Toss, 2009 Julie Blackmon (American, born in 1966) Photograph, Elizabeth and Michael Marcus, Courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
For more information about this exhibit, go to: http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/unexpected-families
For information about the gallery talk with curator Karen Haas, go to: http://www.mfa.org/programs/gallery-activities-and-tours/unexpected-families
Feature Image: Self-portrait with family in SUV, Michigan, 2007 Julie Mack (American, born in 1982) Photograph, chromogenic print, James N. Krebs Purchase Fund for 21st Century Photography © Julie Mack. Courtesy Laurence Miller Gallery, New York. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Yazoo City, Mississippi, 1979 Nicholas Nixon (American, born in 1947) Photograph, gelatin silver contact print, Museum purchase with funds donated by the National Endowment for the Arts and Richard L. Menschel, Bela T. Kalman, Judge and Mrs. Matthew Brown, Mildred S. Lee, and Barbara M. Marshall © Nicholas Nixon, Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
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