Art of Illusion: Photography and Perceptual Play

Do photographs accurately convey visual truths? Or do they merely present illusions? The artists featured in this exhibition explore these ideas and challenge our understanding of the saying, “seeing is believing.” Using a range of technical and conceptual approaches, and working almost exclusively without darkroom manipulation or digital editing software, their works highlight the complex relationship between reality, visual perception, and camera vision. The majority of included works date from the early 1970s to the present.

Drawn from the museum’s renowned photography collection, Art of Illusion will feature approximately fifty works by twenty-five artists, including many recent acquisitions on view for the first time. Artists include: Thomas Barrow, Zeke Berman, Michael Bishop, Cortis & Sonderegger, Robert Cumming, Thomas Demand, John Divola, Liat Elbling, David Hockney, Graham Howe, Kenneth Josephson, Lilly McElroy, Jerry McMillan, Duane Michels, Arno Minkkinen, Abelardo Morell, Grant Mudford, Vik Muniz, John Pfahl, Marcia Resnick, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Michel Szulc-Krzyzanowski, Lew Thomas, Ruth Thorne-Thomsen, and Rodrigo Valenzuela.

This exhibition is dedicated to John Pfahl (1939-2020)

Organized by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, this exhibition is supported by the Hall Family Foundation.

Media Partner: The Independent

Slider Image Captions

• Kenneth Josephson, American (b. 1932). Michigan, 1981. Gelatin silver print, 7 7/8 x 12 inches. Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc., 2005.27.1496.

• Zeke Berman, American (b. 1951). Still Life with Peace Sign and Clockface, 1979. Gelatin silver print, 15 x 18 15/16 inches. Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc., 2005.27.3025.

• Jerry McMillan, American (b. 1936). Untitled, 1978. Gelatin silver print, 19 15/16 x 16 1/8 inches. Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2011.67.46.

• John Divola, American (b. 1949). 74V1, 1974. Gelatin silver print, 7 x 6 15/16 inches. Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2012.17.3

• John Pfahl, American (1939–2020). Australian Pines, Fort DeSoto, Florida, 1977. Inkjet print (printed 2016), 14 x 13/16 x 19 inches. Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2016.75.235.

• Thomas Demand, German (b. 1954). Daily #25, 2015. Dye transfer print, 22 1/8 x 16 ½ inches. Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2017.61.8.

• Liat Elbling, Israeli (b. 1980). Getting Lost, 2015, Inkjet print, 14 ½ x 11 ¾ inches. Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2017.68.22.

• Cortis and Sonderegger Swiss (active since 2005). Making of “Milk Drop Coronet” (by Harold Edgerton, 1957), 2016. Chromogenic print. 41 3/8 x 27 9/16 inches. Purchase: acquired through the generosity of the Photography Society, 2018.54.1.

• Lilly McElroy, American (b. 1980). I Control the Sun #18, 2016. Inkjet print. 17 1/16 x 17 1/16 inches. Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 79.2019.3.

• Abelardo Morell, American (b. Cuba, 1948). Flowers for Lisa #66—After Lewis Carroll, 2017. Inkjet print. 29 ¾ x 22 ¼ inches. Gift of the Hall Family Foundation, 2019.22.24.

• Vik Muniz, Brazilian (b. 1961). Milk Drop, 1998. Dye destruction print. 26 ¾ x 21 ¼ inches. Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc., 2005.27.4151.