"Display" at Maxwell Graham displays new photographic work from Zoe Leonard. Six medium size photos of suits of armor, originally taken at the Musée de l’Armée and the Worcester Art Museum in the 1990s, attract attention amid the gallery’s white walls and high ceilings. Sandwiched to the walls with only pins and sheets of plexiglass, there is an undeniable sparseness to the show. This is to Leonard’s favor, bringing both the content of what is displayed and the intent in the act of displaying to the forefront.
While a knight in armor may capture a sense of masculine heroism, empty suits as seen in Display I(1990/2025) seem more like shells; The masculine becomes evident as performance. The clunky, borderline comedic poses of the armor further undercut any sense of heroism. What remains then, in addition to performance, is the implication of violence.
Leonard has historically used photography to question and confront looking and how something is made to be looked at. In this lens, one questions not only the violence inherent in the armor, but also in the display case itself – that armor on display, valorizing it, and that displays isolate what they contain, stripping it of context. In an era where there is a renewed focus on masculine violence and cruelty from the state, the hollow nature of these suits ring more true.
This article does a great job breaking down the physical display of the gallery and how it implies deeper, conceptual themes. Bringing terms like "masculine violence" into the discussion, the article further contextualizes itself into modern day relevance. The synthesis of the "performance" or masculine heroism is clear and properly explained. Although the critique is very effective, I find that the last paragraph could use more polishing in word choice or explanation. For example, the effects of a display case and how it applies to the theme is still somewhat confusing and can be further pushed and applied to modern era themes hinted at. Overall, great work!
ReplyDelete