Through the Lens: Selections from MoPA's Education Programs
October 3, 2009 – January 24, 2010

The Museum of Photographic Arts is proud to present Through the Lens, the fourth annual youth exhibition, which features the artwork of over 80 students from San Diego, ranging from 3rd–12th grades.

The showcased photographic works were produced by student participants of the photography and filmmaking programs offered by MoPA’s Education Department. MoPA’s educational programs reach thousands of San Diego students every year. Each program is designed to develop students’ visual literacy skills, allowing them to analyze, interpret, and communicate in the countless visual mediums they encounter.

Through the Lens presents a unique opportunity to view the world through the perspective of San Diego’s youth. These images showcase their creativity and artistic expression, while demonstrating the impact of photography as a powerful tool for communicating ideas and emotions.

Picturing the Process: The Photograph as Witness
August 1, 2009 - January 24, 2010

The fourth in a series of educational based exhibitions presented by the Education Department at MoPA, the exhibition explores the variety of ways that photographers and photographs document people, places and events throughout history. The Photograph As Witness will present a selection of approaches to the genre of documentary photography, from the image as a representation of war, photographs that focus on the human condition, and photographers who document the public and personal spheres. The exhibition will also examine the relationship between the documentary image and the concept of the photograph as reality. 

Ansel Adams: A Life’s Work
May 23 - October 4, 2009

The exhibition includes over 80 photographs by the 20th Century master, and celebrates Adams as an artist and conservationist.

A Life's Work features an overview of Adam's work from his early years in Sierra Nevada and Yosemite Valley, to his work in the Japanese Internment Camp at Manzanar, as well as his well-known masterpieces.

As one of the most celebrated and renowned artists of the 20th century, Ansel Adams expanded the practice and appreciation of photography as no other photographer has before, or since. As an environmentalist and a vital member of the Sierra Club, his efforts as a pioneer and crusader for the preservation and protection of America's natural beauty has been duly celebrated and recognized. His legacy as an environmental activist continues to mount importance and relevance today, as his photographs and images perpetuate the vital message of preservation and conservation for younger generations.

Jo Whaley: Theater of Insects
May 16 - September 27, 2009

Including approximately 40 photographs, along with a selection of insect cases and glassed archaeology trays, Theater of Insects seamlessly connects art with science. The photographs show mesmerizing scenes with vibrantly colored insects, artfully placed against weathered, manmade backgrounds. The result is a compelling marriage of natural and artificial, science and art.  

While the specimens in Jo Whaley's images are real, the backgrounds are imaginary, inspired by the old dioramas found in Natural History Museums. By creating carefully crafted, theatrically staged sets, Whaley invites the viewer to engage with the actors—in this case, insects—allowing their beauty to be seen in unexpected ways.

Special thanks to the San Diego Natural History Museum, for their collaboration on this exhibition.

Edward Steichen: The Early Years
January 31 - May 17, 2009

MoPA’s Atrium gallery features Edward Steichen (1879-1973), one of the most influential figures in the history of photography. The Early Years, drawn from MoPA’s permanent collection, consists of Steichen’s signature soft-focus, moody studies of light, landscape, and form. Steichen’s beautifully toned landscapes, sensual nudes, still lifes, and portraits are a dazzling visual record of his emergence as a major talent.

Lou Stoumen Award Winners:
The Legacy
January 31 - May 17, 2009

In 1991, Lou Stoumen established an endowed gift to be given through MoPA to a photographer whose work related in spirit to his own humanistic approach to photography. The Legacy exhibition features photographs by the 2009 Stoumen Prize winner, Mikhael Subotsky, whose documentary photographs of South African prisons are both compassionate and revealing. The exhibition continues with previous Stoumen winners, Debbie Fleming Caffery (1996), Kenro Izu (1999), James Nachtwey (2002), and Gary Schneider (2006), by examining new work alongside the photographs that won them the award.

Lou Stoumen: The Naked Truth
January 31 - May 17, 2009

In his lifetime, Lou Stoumen traveled the U.S., India, Puerto Rico, China, Japan, and beyond, capturing the energy of a changing world. The Naked Truth, a solo exhibition of photographs by the artist, gives a captivating look at the career of this important 20th century photographer.

Considering Edward: Recent Gifts to the Permanent Collection
February 7 - May 10, 2009

For three decades, Curtis photographed 80 Native American tribes throughout the American West, amid personal and professional hardships. In many cases, his images and texts remain the only recorded history of certain tribes. This exhibition includes Native American responses, including observations from tribes who now use Curtis’ photographs for cultural preservation. MoPA is grateful to Howard and Jo Weiner for this gift of Curtis’ photogravures.

Picturing the Process: Exploring the Art and Science of Photography
February 7, 2009 - July 25, 2009

As part of an ongoing series of education-based exhibitions, The Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA) will be presenting an exhibition entitled, Picturing the Process: Exploring the Art and Science of Photography. The Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century brought thousands of commercial and scientific innovations, including photography. Since its infancy, a number of inventors and discoveries have led to the modern state of photography. Utilizing MoPA’s permanent collection, this exhibition will examine the ever growing relationship between the field science and the art of photography. Comprised of innovators of the medium, both famous and unknown, this exhibition will include photographic works from the mid-nineteenth to the early twenty-first century.

Lee Friedlander (American, b.1934), New York City, 1966, Gelatin silver print, Collection Museum of Photographic Arts

Picturing the Process: Portraiture Through the Lens
January 12, 2008 - July 6, 2008
Since its invention in 1839, the unique power of photography has been utilized to record the physical world and appearances. MoPA’s Education Department has drawn from MoPA’s extensive permanent collection to present an evolution of portraiture photography throughout history and through various processes.

This exhibition includes photographic works ranging in date from the mid-19th to the early 21st centuries, seen through works from innovators of the medium, both famous and unknown, including William Henry Fox Talbot, Arnold Newman and Loretta Lux.

Humanitas: Images of India by Fredric Roberts
May 3 - September 7, 2008
Fredric Roberts photographs ordinary life in India, from daily events to ceremonies, revealing the intimacy and community of place. Both genuine and profound, Humanitas: Images of India tells a story of beauty and grace, work and family, spirituality and devotion. Through the combination of portraiture and landscape, Roberts presents a fascinating and engaging depiction of domestic and economic life. Roberts uses color and composition exquisitely, fashioning his photographs with sensuous artistry.

FLESH: Portraits by Gary Schneider
April 27 - September 14, 2008
South African artist Gary Schneider has long been fascinated with the possibilities of photographic portraiture to explore issues of identity. FLESH includes his John in Sixteen Parts, a set of black-and-white fragments of his partner’s face seen through time; Genetic Self-Portrait, his installation, which employs medical-imaging techniques to depict his own body from the inside out; and Heads and Nudes, where Schneider uses exposures of up to three hours to explore and transform the flesh of friends and family.

Nancy Newhall is generously sponsored in part by the Bernard Lee Schwartz Family Foundation, Farrell Family Foundation, RBC Wealth Management and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Nancy Newhall: A Literacy of Images
September 20, 2008 – January 25, 2009

As a writer, curator and photographer, Nancy Newhall, played an important role in promoting photography as a fine art.  Newhall worked closely with well-known photographers such as Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Helen Levitt and Edward Weston. Using her skills as designer, editor and collaborator, she helped shape the concept of the modern photographic book.  A Literacy of Images celebrates the 100th anniversary of her birth, exhibiting her photographs (many for the first time) and the work of her circle of friends.

Click here to learn more about this exhibition's companion publication- the first ever comprehensive survey of this amazing woman... the perfect holiday gift!

Writing with Light is generously sponsored in part by an Anonymous Donor, Weingart Foundation, Price Charities, National Endowment for the Arts, the ResMed Foundation, The City of Encinitas Community Grant Program, the Mizel Family Foundation and the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Fund.

Writing with Light
September 13, 2008 – February 1, 2009

MoPA is proud to present its 3rd annual youth exhibition, Writing with Light, showcasing the works of over 100 students from schools throughout San Diego County. Inspired by the accompanying exhibition, Nancy Newhall: A Literacy of Images, students interpreted literary works both fiction and non-fiction, using photography as their means of expression. The result is an exploration of the many connections between photography and literacy, and an understanding of the significance of viewing photography through writing.