City Whispers
Artist
Ray K. Metzker
(American, 1931-2014)
CultureAmerican
Date1980
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 11 5/8 × 7 7/8 in. (29.5 × 20 cm)
Overall, Paper: 13 7/8 × 10 7/8 in. (35.2 × 27.6 cm)
Overall, Mat: 19 15/16 × 16 in. (50.6 × 40.6 cm)
Overall, Paper: 13 7/8 × 10 7/8 in. (35.2 × 27.6 cm)
Overall, Mat: 19 15/16 × 16 in. (50.6 × 40.6 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, Horace W. Goldsmith Fund
Object number84.177
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a gelatin silver print photograph.Label TextRay K. Metzker American (1931-2014) City Whispers, 1980 Gelatin-silver print Purchase, Horace W. Goldsmith Fund 84.177 Ray Metzker is best known for his multiple-image assemblages of contrasting patterns from the 1960s, but his work continues to be experimental and imaginative. Exploring the photographic medium by challenging the viewer's expectations to the image, Metzker is preoccupied with formal as well as human aspects. This photograph is from the series also titled "City Whispers," that focuses on the making of form through light and darkness. In this photograph, Metzker exhibits his dramatic sense of geometry and pattern as the isolated and fragmented figure stands out in bold relief against a stark black background and is repeated in diagonal lines of light. The brooding mood of City Whispers eventually suggests a world of isolated city dwellers in desolate environments. The Chrysler collection includes four Metzker photographs from his various bodies of work, including one of his assemblages. Exhibition History"History of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, June 15 - August 22, 1999. "Silver Images: The Photography Collection at 25," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., November 5, 2003 - August 2004. "Cities of Light: Photographs from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, February 15 - October 21, 2012.
