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Here I Am

by Kristen Carter

Look at Me: Photographs from Mexico City

Chicago Cultural Center

78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602

June 1, 2009 - July 5, 2009

The notion of “the gaze” has become somewhat of a catchphrase with art and has seemingly become inextricable in the discussion of art, its analysis and art theory. However, in these austere yet powerful portraits of blind children in Mexico City, Jed Fielding, a Chicago-based photographer challenges this very concept. This is the last week to see Fielding's "Look at Me," the exhibition closes July 5th.

These black and white photographs complicate the role of the viewer and ultimately what we see and how we see it. Through the exhibition’s statement we are informed immediately that the figures are indeed blind, yet looking at each photograph and the sometimes haunting, sometimes endearing figures within each of them I slowly became more and more aware of my position as viewer, and the differences and similarities of our worlds through a slow, but definite awareness that my gaze is not being met.

The camera is the mediator here, a metaphor for human vision, which forces us as viewers to directly confront what we as a society would not otherwise. We’ve all heard the expression that "the eyes are the windows to our souls," but after experiencing Fielding’s photographs, I would argue otherwise. Rather, the character of each figure is revealed through their interpersonal interactions, and their genuine facial expressions that is emphasized by Fielding’s straightforward, intimate and simple perspective.

It’s an eerie feeling peering into the eyes of someone you know can’t see, but one that is powerful and incredibly poignant, one that resonates with all of us in the contemplation of something many of us take for granted.

--Kristen Carter

(top image: Jed Fielding, Mexico City, 2000. Courtesy of the artist.)

Posted by Kristen Carter on 6/29 | tags: figurative photography