Currently on view at the High Museum of Art is Signs of Life: Photographs by Peter Sekaer.
You may only know him as the printer of Walker Evans' series of African masks, but he was a great photographer in his own right. Born in Denmark, he studied photography with Berenice Abbott. He was friends with Ben Shahn and also Evans, who also helped him to secure more contracts from 1936 to 1943 to work on assignment as a photographer for various government agencies. His untimely death in 1950 at the age of 49 put an end to an incredible body of work. Not only does the High present unseen pictures of black American life in the 30's, but also different views of scenes that we know well through the images of Evans, who he traveled with on photo trips. I will post about their trip to Bethlehem, PA next month. If you're in Atlanta, visit the High Museum of Art at 1280 Peachtree Street, N.E.http://www.high.org/main.taf?p=3,1,1,19,1 and also Lumiere Gallery at 425 Peachtree Hills Avenue for the concurrent show: Peter Sekaer . . . In Context – Collector’s Galleryhttp://lumieregallery.net/wp/2925/peter-sekaer-in-context/ Featuring the exceptional photography of Peter Sekaer in the context of other notable artists of the period: Berenice Abbott, Arnold Newman, Alexander Rodchenko, Dorothea Lange and John Gutmann. This show ends soon, October 15th, but work by Sekaer will also be featured in their upcoming exhibition: Photography as Propaganda, opening October 16th.
