Since the inception of photography, photographs have been made, used, collected, and discarded in greatly increasing numbers.   Despite the photograph's persistent presence in daily life, until recently most types of everyday photography have remained unexamined by historians and have been absent from the walls of art museums.   In response to this omission, some scholars have begun to consider photography as a "vernacular" practice.   This reframing of the history of photography serves as the starting point for In the Vernacular:   Everyday Photographs from the Rodger Kingston Collection .

This is the first exhibition to fully highlight the scope of the Rodger Kingston collection. Since the 1970s, Kingston has assembled an impressive collection of visually striking images by primarily anonymous photographers. Drawing from this collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century photographs and photo objects, In the Vernacular explores the utilitarian functions that photographs serve.   The types of images and objects on display should be familiar to viewers: wedding photographs, news and advertising images, insurance pictures, family pictures, travel albums, school class portraits, pin-up photos, identification badges, and even a photographic bandana.

The exhibition is organized around four thematic categories-- Yardstick , Surrogate , Archive , and Proof --designed to encourage viewers to contemplate how photography is enmeshed in their own histories and their own individual lives.   Viewers will find that the themes are permeable and often even overlap.   Certainly, many of the images in the exhibition could be moved from one category to another, creating a dynamic and interactive viewing experience.

Rental Fee:
$6,000 for 6-8 weeks
Exhibition Content:
Approx. 170 photographs and photo-objects in frames and for cases (display cases required)
Curators:
Stacey McCarroll and Ross Barrett, Boston University Art Gallery
Organizing Institution:
Boston University Art Gallery
Shipping:
Pro-rated
Available Dates:
March 2005- August 2008
Exhibition Includes:
Text panel information, identification label text and custom crates
Exhibition Catalogue and Conference Anthology:
Will be available at discounted rate to venues