November 15, 1980
Eve Arnold, whose published photographs are familiar to millions, is now to have her first museum exhibition at The Brooklyn Museum: In China: Photographs by Eve Arnold, on view November 15, 1980-January 11, 1981. This renowned photographer has covered worldwide assignments. Her subjects range from the first five minutes of a baby’s life to life in an Arabian harem; from Hollywood movie queens to presidents and prime ministers. In 1979, Arnold focused her camera on China and the daily lives of its people.
Arnold made two extended trips to China that year, traveling some 40,000 miles over a period of five months. She worked in the cities, in the countryside, and in remote areas seldom seen by foreigners--Tibet and Inner Mongolia. Arnold’s intention was to make a statement about “the lives of the people, to try to penetrate to their humanity, to try to get a sense of the sustaining character beneath the surface. I wanted to get beyond the endless blue suits and bicycles we’ve been seeing pictures of for so many years and to cover as many of the particulars of China as I could: and I wanted to tell my story in color.”
Eve Arnold accomplished her goal in the 104 brilliant color prints selected by Consulting Curator of Prints and Drawings, Gene Baro, for the Brooklyn exhibition--and in the 170 color plates of her book to be published this fall by Alfred A. Knopf ($30.00 hardcover). Arnold has brought her sensitivity and sharp eye to a totally unexpected side of China--from cowboys, bathing beaches, and modern cityscapes to practicing Muslims, varied ethnic groups, and 24-sheet billboards advertising medicine for heart disease sold over the counter. She captures the spirit, the color, and the involvement of the people.
The exhibition has been sponsored by Exxon Corporation and will travel internationally following the New York venue. It will be presented at the Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, March 28-May 24, 1981. Other venues will be announced.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1971 - 1988. 1980, 041. View Original
