Portraits allows photographer to turn camera on himself

"This is what all my work is -- looking at things really close up." For photographer Gary Schneider, this claim just might be an understatement. Schneider has expanded his art by using extreme mediums of photography to capture a new form of portraiture. Exploring the themes of identity and individuality, this artist depicts the human form under the closest artistic scrutiny imaginable.

Harvard's Arthur M. Sackler Museum is currently hosting the first major collection of Schneider's work, titled "Gary Schneider: Portraits." The exhibit, which contains several works that span the thirty year career of the South-African born artist, opened on Saturday and will remain at Harvard through the June 13.

Upon cursory glances of Schnenider's work, "Portraits" may seem an incongruous title. Throughout his career, Schneider has sought new methods, mediums, and ideas to convey biography and emotion through portraiture, but as a result, some of his work does not resemble the conventional conception of a portrait.

Schneider's exhibit features several multi-panel installations, including his famous response to the human genome project, the 55-panel "Genetic Self-Portrait." Using microscopy and assistance from scientists, Schneider captured images of his own DNA, which he then manipulated into stunning works of art, blending biology and art into an original and provocative self portrait.

"Genetic Self-Portrait" features several intimate views of the human form, including a masterfully lit black and white photograph of a single sperm cell; engaging analyses of the human eyes, ears, and face; and, most noteworthy, fascinating glimpses into the human's most basic form: DNA. Perhaps the most striking panel in the installation is a lucid look at the tumor suppressor gene. In one large black and white panel, Schneider conveys his own body's ability to fight cancer. Unlike most concept-art, Schneider's masterpiece truly evokes feeling in its viewers because of its universality; his art confronts viewers with images of controversial scientific endeavors, ranging from wonderment to personal violation.

Spanning one half of the exhibit, the "Genetic Self Portrait" is an incredible work of art. Not only is it masterful concept-art, but it is engaging and beautiful, a true landmark in the world of photography. It alone is worth the visit to the Sackler Museum.

For those less interested in science, "Portraits" does not revolve entirely around the "Genetic Self-Portrait." It is an indispensable conclusion to the exhibit, but fortunately not the only significant work. The first half of the exhibit is filled with Schneider's earlier work, mostly portraits of a recognizable human form.

Schneider tackles portraiture with a wide range of mediums including multiple-exposure Polaroids, film, and even exposures of 19th century negatives. Schneider attempts to display multiple angles of one subject in many of his installations. This recurring approach to his art is visible throughout the exhibit and unveils Schneider's artistic predilection to the conceptual and physical dissection of the portrait. In one featured installation, "John in Sixteen Parts," Schneider portrays the image of one man across 16 panels, which enables him to emphasize more intimate angles and views of the human form.

The idea of portrait dissection appears in Schneider's earliest work in the exhibit, a self portrait from 1976, which consists of several Polaroids of different areas of the body rearranged in one frame. Schneider's unique approach to photographic portraiture -- his consistent desire to see objects very close -- has led him to create intimate portrayals of the human form in art.

The retrospective is very successfully displayed. The evolution of Schneider's work is apparent, and his artistic achievements are worthy of praise. In addition to the "Portraits" exhibit, viewers may hear a gallery talk by Gary Schneider himself on Sunday, March 14, in Harvard's Sackler Gallery.