Isolation

Isolation: A Photo Essay

Before the advent of digital cameras, photography required artists to spend time in a dark room developing their photographs. These hours dedicated to perfecting their craft left much time for introspection. Moreover, with the introduction of the 35 mm film cameras in the early twentieth century, photographers could take cameras to new, isolated locations without the fear of lugging expensive equipment with them. This photo essay explores eight works in the Perry Collection that convey this sense of isolation. 

Portrait of a Young Man in an Abandoned Room (1967)
gelatin silver print
Danny Lyon

Barbara, Switzerland (in narrow alley, standing looking downward) (ca. 1957)
dye transfer print
Harry Callahan

The Market, Port-au-Prince (1983-1986)
gelatin silver print
Danny Lyon

The East side of Washington Street Between Reade and Chambers Streets (1966-67)
gelatin silver print
Danny Lyon

Rejstejn, Czech republic (1994)
gelatin silver print
Michael A. Smith

Snowed-in City Street at Night (1939)
gelatin silver print
William Witt
 

Uffington Horse, Oxfordshire, England (1985)
gelatin silver print (selenium-toned)
Marilyn Bridges
 

El Parícutin, Michoacán, Mexico (ca. 1925)
photographic print (monochrome)
Hugo Brehme

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Isolation does not require the physical isolation that Marilyn Bridges achieves through her photographs from an airplane, but can also have a very physical presence. Some of the photographs depicted here require at least two people, photographer and subject, but a sense of loneliness permeates the scene.