August 22 - October 30, 2005 3rd FLOOR GALLERY NEW YORK STORIES: The Photography of Frank Paulin The title of this exhibition invokes the powerful narrative impulse in Frank Paulin's art. In his nuanced photographs, celebrated monuments are pushed to the margins, and individuals claim the central space. Paulin eschews iconic sites: the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and Brooklyn Bridge are conspicuous by the absence here. Instead, he embraces more private scenes—the lone musician, kissing couples, or strangers passing. The thirty-five photographs on view date primarily to the 1950s, an era perhaps best known for its sanitized, even saccharine characterizations of American suburban life. Paulin, by contrast, sought less conventional, occasionally disconcerting views of city existence. Glimpsed with Paulin's unflinching eye, a mangled doll hints at human cruelty. Seen through his lens, a Halloween mask appears infused with unexpected horror. The photographs are not without whimsy, however. His camera captures a large man exiting a cinema showing "Flesh Merchant", and frames a woman applying makeup, indifferent to being observed by two youths-a playful allusion to Susanna and the Elders, a biblical subject popular in seventeenth-century art. As with all photography, what seems spontaneous in these images is in fact carefully wrought. For Paulin in particular, the process belies the results. The artist's deliberate selection of his subject, masterful framing, and patience in awaiting a desired effect yield photographs notable for their organic wholeness and apparent spontaneity. At the heart of Paulin's art lies an uncanny ability to transform otherwise banal scenes into minor dramas performed without fanfare in the corners of the great stage that is the city of New York. This exhibition has been made possible by Bruce Silverstein Photography, New York, New York. The Picker Art Gallery is grateful to Bruce Silverstein '89 for his generous gift of eight photographs included in the exhibition.

The Picker Art Gallery Website consisting of all photos, images, text and entire contents may not be reprinted or reproduced without written consent of the Picker Art Gallery. Copyright 2007.