Reality Check

Reality Check is about the power of the photographic image, the process of looking, and especially the levels of belief that photography engenders. Each of the artists acknowledges the photograph as a document with the potential of proposing a convincing representation of reality. Some of the photographs in this exhibition are presented as straightforward representations, while others are thoroughly constructed. Some of the images are so ambiguous that it is difficult to ascertain whether the image is of reality or not. Combined, these photographs produce an uneasy space between what we believe is real and what is imagined. In addition, all of them permit an intensity of looking that can make one self-conscious, even uncomfortable. The viewer is allowed to stare and scrutinize in ways that normally might not be permissible in a context outside of art. This is where visual art accommodates consideration and debates about subjects that may not seem otherwise acceptable. 

This exhibition spans several thematic groupings that range from works derived from documentary traditions to those informed by surrealism. The tenor fluctuates between one of logic to one of subliminal uncertainty. This dynamic is important to the experience of the exhibition, in that it is intended to transcend a purely didactic presentation to speak in more poetic ways about the power of photographic images. Reality Check includes some nineteen works by sixteen artists drawn from the collections of the National Gallery and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography. 

Artists:  A. A. Bronson, James Casebere, John Coplans, Robin Collyer, Stan Denniston, Christos Dikeakos, Rodney Graham. Holly King, Arnaud Maggs, Liz Magor, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Joel-Peter Witkin 

This exhibition has been organized by Kieth Wallace as part of the National Gallery’s Guest Curator Program and circulated by the National Gallery of Canada.