The Photographs of Ray K. Metzker

Kansas City, MO, Dec. 21, 2010

Opens Jan. 15 at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Ray K. Metzker, American (b. 1931). Philadelphia, 1983. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc., 2005.27.1963. © Ray K. Metzker, Courtesy of the Laurence Miller Gallery.

Works by Ray K. Metzker, one of the most original and influential photographers of the last half century, will be on view from Jan. 15 to June 5, 2011, at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The Photographs of Ray K. Metzker will reveal Metzker’s ability to turn ordinary subjects, including the urban experience and nature, into the visual poetry of the finely crafted black-and-white print.

At the age of nearly 80, Metzker is greatly admired for his passionate engagement with both photography and the world. He has explored the use of high contrast and selective focus, the potentials of multiple and composite images, and the infinite gradations of daylight, from dazzling white to inky shadow.

“This is great and lasting work – the very best of a classic form of American modernism,” said Keith F. Davis, senior curator of photography at the Nelson-Atkins. “Metzker has led a life of deep devotion to understanding the potential, challenge and pleasure of photographic seeing.

“In so doing, he has transcended any simple notion of technical experimentation or formalism to illuminate a vastly larger human realm—one of uncertainty, isolation and vulnerability, as well as of unexpected beauty, grace and transcendence.”

Thanks to a major gift from the Hall Family Foundation, the Nelson-Atkins now has the largest holding of Metzker’s work (92 prints) in the United States.

Born in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1931, Metzker first took up photography as a teenager. After two years in the army, he entered the graduate program at the Institute of Design, Chicago, in the fall of 1956. His professors, Aaron Siskind and Harry Callahan, were acclaimed artists and inspiring teachers, and they emphasized the medium’s remarkable range and visual potential. Metzker’s artistic vision grew from a union of ideas: the realities of modern life, the medium’s myriad technical possibilities, and the quest for a distinctly individual vision.

Metzker has lived and worked in Philadelphia since 1962, and as he approaches the age of 80, he continues to make new pictures there.

The photographs in the exhibition feature examples from all his major series, including his earliest mature work from Chicago (1957–59); photographs from an extended visit to Europe (1960–61); the street activity, people, and structures of Philadelphia (from 1962 to the present); beachgoers at the New Jersey shore, Sand Creatures (1968–77); the starkness of the Southwestern light and landscape, New Mexico (1971–72); and the lush mysteries of the natural realm, in his Landscapes (1985–96) from Italy, France and the United States.

Ray K. Metzker, American (b. 1931). Frankfurt (Man in Canoe), 1964. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc., 2005.27.1960. © Ray K. Metzker, Courtesy of the Laurence Miller Gallery.

The exhibition features a host of innovative and ingenious approaches to photography, including the use of the double image, Double Frame (1964–66) and Couplets (1968–69); single works created from an entire roll of film, Composites (1964–66); and the creative control of focus in both Pictus Interruptus (1976–80) and Landscapes (1985-96).

The following programs at the Museum will accompany the exhibition:

 A 55-year Career in 55 Minutes, with Davis presenting an informal overview of Metzker’s life during The Curator is IN! in Gallery L11 of the Bloch Building, 7–8 p.m., Friday, Jan. 28. 
The Photographs of Ray K. Metzker, a special presentation by Davis in Atkins Auditorium, 6–7 p. m. Thursday, April 7.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums. The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access and insight into its renowned collection of more than 33,500 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and new American Indian and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the Museum is a key educational resource for the region. The institution-wide transformation of the Nelson-Atkins has included the 165,000-square-foot Bloch Building expansion and renovation of the original 1933 Nelson-Atkins.

The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours are Wednesday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, Noon–5 p.m. Admission to the Museum is free to everyone. For Museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org/.