Elusive Light
Michael Eastman Retrospective
St. Louis University Museum of Art
Through December 16
RAC Blogger: Debra Kokorudz

When I told a good artist friend of mine that my next blog entry would be about the Michael Eastman retrospective, Elusive Light, at the St. Louis University Museum of Art, he said, “It’s eye candy. I like his pictures of crumpled up Fritos bags better.“ Now, I have found no examples of said Fritos bags, but he does bring up an interesting argument.

Some of these photographs do make me ask myself, “Is it real, or is it photoshop?” Now, I have no idea if the artist used photoshop or any sort of technological tools in these photographs. But, really, what’s the difference? Is my friend trying to say that the art is any less real because it is not really the picture as it was seen through the lens of the camera? Is this prejudice due strictly to the medium? Is that fair?

Picasso’s Portrait of Dora Maar is obviously not a literal translation of her beauty. But it is no less art. We give Picasso the freedom to interpret as his artistic sensibilities dictate. Why can’t we do the same for photographs? If a photographer chooses to saturate a color or manipulate the contrast in a photo to achieve a desired effect, is it lessening the “art”? The composition, the inspiration, the technical ability is all there. It is indeed art and I will not discount it. Is it real, or is it photoshop? Dear friend, I don’t care. I like eye candy!

This exhibit is incredibly extensive, and includes several series of work by the artist – interiors, landscapes, abstracts, horses. I was delighted by the depth and variety of works. Several elements of the work made an impression on me. First, the composition. Whether an interior, exterior, or landscape, the composition in these photographs tells a detailed story.  In Isabella’s Two Chairs, we see a crumbling display of magnificence, like a secret childhood hideaway forgotten by time, but someone’s reality exists in the midst of all this decay. It is both fascinating and heartbreaking.

Two things about the landscapes captured my attention, first of all, the sky. Eastman has a phenomenal ability to capture that moment when bright sunlight hits dark clouds, making it appear that all the doom of hell is about to rain down on you. The contrast is so striking, the clouds so defined, the sky itself becomes a landscape. The second, is the depth of view. In Near Dillon #1, the view of the sky and mountains with a tiny town in the foothills seems to go on forever. Like paintings by the Renaissance Flemish masters, van Eyck or van der Wyden, you can just keep losing your self in the background.

Finally, I was mesmerized by Eastman’s portraits of horses. (What girl doesn’t love horses?) But these photographs in sepia tones capture the majesty of the animals and I felt like I could see their souls.

You know, Michael Eastman lives right here among us in St. Louis. He could be reading this right now. Makes me kinda nervous. But I got quite lost in this exhibit and I thoroughly enjoyed doing so. It was like settling into a book of short stories, each one taking me on a different journey authored by the imagination of Michael Eastman.