From Sean O’Connor’s peaceful yet whirling studies of dancers in motion to Richard Johnson’s dynamic images capturing ragged geometries; from Don Kepler’s picture-book photos of blooming nature, to Mike Davern’s ramshackle rural scenes; and from Tom Snow’s lively documentary of Native American heritage celebrations, to Eric Ciccarelli’s impressions of decayed urban spaces and cultural detritus, the young photographers here—shooting mostly in color—run the gamut of straight sensibilities. For his relentless dedication to hardcore raunchiness Cicccarelli steals the show with his gritty black-and-white takes of a busted bicycle collapsed in filthy rubble and of discarded mattresses and trash of uncertain origin strewn on broken-up pavement. Ciccarelli announces where he stands in his banner color shot of a ripped wall poster—surrounded by dense gang graffiti—in which a young boy stares at us dumbfoundedly; across his chest have been affixed the words: NO FUTURE. It is a needed sorbet from sentimentality. (Michael Weinstein)
Home Is Where the Family Is: A Review of Chicago Chiquito at Bridgeport Art Center This small but significant exhibition shows the history of Chicago Chiquito, or little Chicago, the nickname given to La Hacienda, a small town in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Its families have migrated north to find work for over one hundred years.
Fleeing Desperation: A Review of Ada Trillo at Chicago Center for Photojournalism In this heartbreaking yet visually beautiful exhibition, Ada Trillo implicates herself within her subjects to shine a light on both the hope and the hopelessness of their lives. If you are not moved by these images, surely your heart is made of stone.
