Woe in the charcoals of Lota, I see:
The dishonored chileno in a black corrugation
Rifling the bitter recesses,
Dying or living, born to the pitiless cinder
In a posture of kneeling, felled
Between bogs and black powder,
As a world might create and undo itself,
For only a winter's survival of coughing,
Or the step of a horse through the pitch-colored water,
where lately
The perishing knives of the stripped eucalyptus have fallen
–Pablo Neruda / Hunger in the South
Today is October 21, 2020. On this day in history, women in France are allowed to vote for first time (1945); Aldous Huxley, the author of Brave New World writes to congratulate George Orwell on his new novel 1984 (1949); Stella Isaacs became the first woman in British House of Lords (1958); Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens in New York (1959); Norman Borlaugh, an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide contributing to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution is award the Nobel Peace Prize (1970); and Pablo Neruda is award the Nobel Prize for Literature (1971).
Welcome to the 120th edition of Prescriptions. Here is our review of the week in the arts.
Alec Soth
I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating
This exhibition comprised of large scale portraits and interiors focuses on Alec Soth’s depiction of the individual, posing questions about what these images reveal about both the sitter and photographer. Through December 6, 2020 at Foam.
Hilma af Klint
Hilma af Klint / Artist, Researcher, Medium
Hilma af Klint was a pioneer of abstraction. Early on she developed a rich, symbolic imagery that preceded the broadly recognized emergence of abstract art with palette that challenged the canon of the day. At Moderna Museet, Malmo through February 21, 2021.
Sohrab Hura
Companion Pieces: New Photography 2020
Since the first New Photography exhibition at MoMA in 1985, the series has introduced the work of nearly 150 artists to wider audiences. This year, Companion Pieces brings together more recent works. Online and ongoing at Museum of Modern Art New York.
Davide Degano
Beyond the Land of Castles
Presenting the documentary photography series by Davide Degano: “I re-discover parts of my cultural heritage, portraying the different facets of the life of mountain villages in between the Italian and Slovenian borders. What I found was a community of survivors.”
Tyler Mitchell
I Can Make You Feel Good
This exhibition of Tyler Mitchell comes at a critical time in our culture when so many are challenging pre-existing representations and taking ownership of their own imaging, see the world and all that is possible. Through December 31, 2020 at ICP International Center for Photography.
Le’Andra LeSeur
Photo London Digital
Photo London presented this past week Photo London Digital, taking place online this year with the its digital partner, Artsy, and welcoming exhibitors including Yancey Richardson, Reflex Amsterdam, Aperture, Fisheye, and artists through shows and masterworks including Marc Lagrange, Tania Franco Klein, Stephen Shore, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Hannah Starkey, Richard Avedon, and Irving Penn among many others. Recently closed, October 7–18, 2020.
Ramona Deckers
HER
Presenting the works of Ramona Deckers, Tiffany Roubert, and Lena Jeanne, exploring the different approaches and influences of intimate documentary photography from a female gaze. On view online through December 8, 2020 at In Frame.
Lindokuhle Sobekwa
PROFILES
Alec Soth featuring his seminal work I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating at Foam; Hilma af Klint, pioneer of abstraction, Artist, Researcher, Medium exhibiting at Moderna Museet; Davide Degano publishing his documentary photography Beyond the Land of Castles; Tyler Mitchell, presenting I Can Make You Feel Good at ICP International Center for Photography in New York; Lena Jeanne, currently taking part in the group exhibition, HER at In Frame; and photographers Marc Lagrange, Tania Franco Klein, Stephen Shore, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Hannah Starkey, Richard Avedon, and Irving Penn among many others who were presented at Photo London Digital.
