Columbus Museum of Art, March 17-July 2, 2017
Allan Sekula: Aerospace Folktales and Other Stories explores the work of the American artist Allan Sekula. A pivotal figure in contemporary art from the early 1970s until his untimely death in 2013, Sekula continuously questioned the function of the documentary genre and the consequences of global capitalism through his writings, photographic installations, videos, and films. At the core of the exhibition is the artist’s landmark work, Aerospace Folktales (1973), an installation that has not been exhibited since the 1970s, and was acquired by the Columbus Museum of Art in 2015. This first exhibited version of Aerospace Folktales consists of 142 photographs, a written “commentary,” and four audio interviews that investigate the artist’s own class situation and familial circumstance. Alongside this installation, the exhibition features a selection of major works from Sekula’s multi-faceted practice between 1972 and 2012, including work he made while based in Columbus during the early 1980s.