Acting Out: Invented Melodrama in Contemporary Photography

"Acting Out" examines the enduring presence of melodrama in fine art photography, considering photographs that make use of the long-standing language of melodrama inspired by literature, theatre, cinema, television, advertising, film stills, photo-journalism, and earlier photography. In her essay Kathleen Edwards discusses melodrama as an aesthetic perceptual system stemming from the development of modern society in Western Europe and the United States. Considering melodrama as a time-honored system for making sense of experience, Edwards looks at how the expressionist body works to appeal to the emotions of the viewer and offers ways to recognize and release feelings. The artists included are Tina Barney, Gregory Crewdson, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Anna Gaskel, Tom Hunter, Simen Johan, Justine Kurland, Laura Letinsky, Sharon Lockhart, Adi Nes, Cindy Sherman, Yinka Shonibare, Janaina Tschape, and Jeff Wall.