Behind the Scenes with Duane Michals

Carnegie Museum of Art's exhibition Duane Michals: Collector (November 1, 2014 – March 2, 2015) offered a unique look at the world of art through the eyes of an eclectic collector, acclaimed photographer Duane Michals. One of the most influential photographers of the late 20th century—known for his genre-challenging practices such as the inclusion of text and creation of narrative series—Michals is also an avid art collector. Since 2001, he has given nearly 50 works from his collection to CMOA, which is also the single largest repository of his photographs; the works in Duane Michals: Collector are all promised gifts to the museum.

The selection of works ranges from an etching made in 1799 by Francisco de Goya, to a large painting by Mark Tansey dated 1999, to photographs by André Kertész from the 1920s and 1930s. While the works and artists are diverse, certain key themes speak to Michals’s own practice: the relationship between image and text, the importance of humor and imagination, and evidence of the human hand. Duane Michals: Collector incorporates Michals’s own interpretations and memories, offering insights into his collecting and its relationship to his art-making. Capture in this video is an intimate and rare experience, a meditation on a life spent with, and making, art.

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