Adam Ekberg: Minor Spectacles

Whatever transpires in the blink of an eye can be either a minor occurrence or a great spectacle, depending on our perception of that event. What happens when we are the sole witness to an event? There is an inherent loneliness in not being able to share something, whether mundane or astonishing, with others.

This loneliness permeates Adam Ekberg’s whimsical photographs that document the climax of orchestrated events. While the camera freezes them into still lifes, a sense of continuity—like the arc of a story—happens as one realizes that Ekberg (American, b. 1975) invented, manifested, documented, and concluded these events. The objects take on lives of their own, even though we know that such agency is impossible for a roller skate, a pumpkin, or a balloon to have without human intervention. Ekberg’s presence is underscored by his absence in the resulting pictures.

Ekberg works with an intense focus on imagining, generating, and capturing each precise moment of whimsy. Through this absurdist approach, he invites us to slow down, be present, and pay attention to the ordinary. In doing so, this work suggests that we might find the extraordinary in the fleeting moment.

This exhibition includes more than 22 inkjet prints from Adam Ekberg’s ongoing body of work.

Видео Adam Ekberg: Minor Spectacles канала George Eastman Museum