Exhibition captures photos in the negative

Imagine having a professional photographer at your family's reunion or at a picnic with your parents. One photographer, Diane Arbus, changed the world of photography years ago by treating the entire country as her family. A new exhibit, Family Albums, aims to address Arbus' goal. This exhibit includes portraits of well-to-do East Siders in Manhattan, as well as the mother of accused murderer Lee Harvey Oswald.

Newly discovered prints provide the impetus for this exhibit, now at the Grey Gallery at New York University. The exhibit closes on Mar. 27. Although Family Albums is not showing near Tufts, a trip into the Big Apple merits a visit to this exhibition.

The highlight of Family Albums is the display of contact sheets shown alongside Arbus' portraits. Contact sheets, or negatives, let a photographer determine which shot she wishes to print and the Arbus exhibit greatly benefits from these contact sheets. They help viewers see why a particular image may have been selected for display.

Arbus seems almost obsessive compulsive when one looks at the contact sheets. Perhaps it is a small thing like a crook of a head, or the crossing of one's leg that may make a photograph special stylistically and worth the work entailed in making a perfect print, It is clear that Arbus tweaked her sitters to no end and then chose her favorite poses to be printed.

In one section of the exhibit entitled "Mothers," pictures show how Arbus explored the role of the matriarch in a variety of subjects -- from actresses like sexy Mae West to two full photographs of Lee Harvey Oswald's mother, Marguerite. They are displayed in between sheets of dozens of contacts showing numerous poses and expressions on Marguerite's aged face.

Another highlight of the exhibit is the comments from Arbus on her subjects. She described Oswald's constant grin -- how she continuously looked secretly pleased even though her son was the alleged murderer of a beloved president. There are no signs of grief in her eyes; she gives off the impression that she is photographed all the time and that this is no different.

The exhibit shows how good Arbus was at finding anomalous situations for her subjects. When viewing the dozens of contact prints displayed alongside the finished pieces, it is evident that she put a lot of effort into posing and styling her subjects. Other topics explored include "Fathers," showing both famous and non-famous paternal figures and "Partners," showing numerous couples.

A particularly interesting photo is one Arbus did for Esquire in the mid-1960s, focusing on the famous doctor, Donald Gatch. In "Dr. Donald Gatch and Addie Taylor, 1968," Gatch stands to the right of Taylor's wooden shack. Arbus poses Gatch to look dapper; he is wearing a black three piece suit with a white collared shirt peeking out and has a cigar in his mouth. Another example of Arbus' styling is clear: to make the photograph more artistic, Arbus positioned Gatch's right leg so it is bent with the foot resting on an axe. His left arm is also bent with his hand resting on his left hip.The two bent appendages form a nice balance of angles at either side of his body.

Arbus started as a fashion photographer in the 1950s, but by the 60s she began to shoot many different types of subjects - including carnival freaks and transvestites.

Right before committing suicide in 1971, Arbus wrote that she saw family to be defined as any type of bond, often more unconventional than just between brothers or husbands and wives. The curators of the exhibit want the audience to feel as if they are privy to seeing a family album of America. The photos are mounted with fuzzy borders, giving them a less professional feeling, and groups of families are shown together engaged in happy activities. The photos are often candid.

What is presented in this exhibition is quite an intimate showing of people. Sometimes they are unusual or out of place, and her subjects are in a variety of settings. Arbus worked hard to find oddities in people and places, and her photographs captures individuals that many others would call freaks. Her images are meant to arrest the viewer and to make him want more. Though this gallery show is small, it is clear that Arbus was ultimately successful in her task.