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Chando Held

Prof. Stivers

ENGL 123-B11

14 November 2018

All Inspiration.

“In The Present: Five Decades” is an exhibition by a veteran photographer named

Elaine Mayes. The installment is being displayed at the Savannah College of Art & Design’s

Museum of Art from 20 September till 13 January 2019. The exhibition consists of six series

with different photographs which focuses on landscapes, architecture, one point perspectives

and portraits. Those series reflect on the thoughts and places she went throughout the years.

Between 1961 and 1968 she was an independent photojournalist working in San Francisco for

magazines and graphic designers, until she transitioned to photography. According to the SCAD

Museum’s website, she’s been an active visual artist since the 60s and her photography has

been exhibited extensively. Mayes is actually the first woman to teach film and photography in

an American university. She is well known for her portraits of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury

residents in 1967-8 and for her iconic images of rock and roll performers in the late 1960s. In

every aspect of photography Mayes sets the bar for creativity and intelligence. On her website

it states that she also received a number of awards including three grants from the National

Endowment for the Arts and a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. James Estrin from the New

York Times mentions that she started photographing at the time she went to the San Francisco

Institute, which is also where a lot of her influences and style visually came about.

“In The Present: Five Decades” is an exhibition is a great representation of everyday

human life because of the authenticity, representations and style Mayes illustrates throughout

the exhibition. All pictures at the museum are being displayed on white walls, vintage silver
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gelatin prints, digital print and visually they all have a retro, vintage emotion to it. The layout

of the exhibition is chronological and very well organized. Every single piece of art focuses on

the American culture and represents the changes of the early 70s and 80s. Furthermore, the

environment where the pictures are being displayed also gives the audience a unique feel while

they observe the pictures. In order to find out how some of them were created, I find that a

viewer really has to observe the piece of art with the little description that is being given. There

is not much to say about every picture but at the same time every detail in the description is

completely clear. The physical elements of Mayes are clearly very well thought out for every

section of the exhibition.

When entering “In The Present: Five Decades,” viewers are completely inspired by

how uniquely rock and roll and hippieness can be displayed in pictures. Mase states in a

interview she did with Gregory Eddi Jones, that she mostly draws inspiration from music,

galleries and museums, so that’s the reason I also think why her pictures look so hippy all the

time. The exhibition also explores Mayes’s lesser-known color works. Viewers will definitely

be appreciated by the way she captured culture in the series and the elements of photography

she included. In her photography, she includes many elements of design such as contrast, value,

grain and a little bit of shape. Most importantly, her monochrome photos really communicate

differently with the viewer’s mind compared to her colored ones.

From the moment a viewer walks into the exhibition the first thing they will be welcomed by

is the title and under that title there are many portraits of the famous series From The Series

Haight Ashbury Portraits. Mayes is known for this series, that was created in 1968 in the center

of the San Francisco counterculture. It depicts people standing on the street, sitting on stoops,

or in the park. I have a feeling that each subject was randomly asked to look into the camera

and project his or her image onto the film. The emotion in those portraits people reveal depict
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the street life, popular music and struggle they were going through individually. What she’s

trying to highlight is every aspects of living life. This is a series that will give many viewers to

contemplate on the emotion the people had on the day the picture was taken. It involves a lot

of culture influences like Rock and Roll because of the way many people dress in those pictures

but it is definitely worth the watch.

Right at the back of the entrée of the exhibition, viewers will also be amazed by the simplicity

of how all pictures are being displayed. At that side of the room, the series is called From Ki’i

No Hawai’I which depicts trees and nature in Hawaii on the right side of the wall of the

museum. My favorite picture of this series is called Aiea Loop Trail, Oahu because it shows me

area of nature that I’ve never seen before. The type of film she used perfectly fit the colors of

that moment. The trees and the green colors really will take many viewers subconsciously on a

trip. Isn’t that great? Because it forces viewers to think what about what speaks to them visually.

A picture that can speak to the viewer visually, that’s exactly what art intensively is supposed

to do.

“From the NEA Project Autolandscapes” is also an incredible series where she toured from the

east coast to the west coast of the United States and photographed the architecture, natural-

landscapes and personal snips from a moving car. I find this series very interesting because of

the way she captured the landscapes. According to the interview Jones did with Mayes she

stated that she wanted to photograph the land as all people were experiencing it. Next to the

Height Ashbury Portraits, this serie is also what she’s very known for. Furthermore, there’s this

other series which is called From The Series Airport Airplane which is my favorite section of

the entire exhibition because it includes photographs that really makes me contemplate on life

from the moment it caught my eye. There’s this picture that’s taken at Long Corridor, LAX

Airport which monochromatically depicts four people walking in a hallway. It effectively

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evokes questions about our existence which will give viewers a memorable effect. It is one of

those pictures where Mayes probably knew exactly how the picture is going to turn out before

she captured it but didn’t hesitate to take the shot. In this series there’s this picture that’s taken

at Long Corridor, LAX Airport which monochromatically depicts four men walking in a

hallway on which viewers can definitely connect to today’s society. From loneliness to unity,

the picture has different meanings for viewers to contemplate on what it is all about. The picture

was taken in 1971 and it also includes a one point perspective element in it. Somehow that

image has a sad emotion to it but subconsciously I find that it includes a lot of symbolism.

Chronologically I find that Mayes successfully directs viewers to the simplicity and

story behind the exhibition even though the exhibition still has some weaknesses. If some

pictures had included an artist statement with a little more description of how the pictures came

about then it might have been easier for the viewers to understand the meaning behind the

pictures. But some pictures are still understandable without it. From monochromatic to colorful

images, I find that the sizes of some images could be displayed bigger. Another defect in the

exhibit is the lack of information that is given. Although, those small weaknesses still make the

pieces of art interesting for every viewer who enters the exhibition with a open-mind. Even

photographers who ask themselves what they’re doing when they’re capturing images definitely

have to see the exhibition too, especially artists who are in a field of constant creation and

creativity. When people take photographs they want to capture the emotion and memory of the

moment. Photography allows one to do so by completely freezing time and offering a full

examination of a scene. Mayes definitely wants young artists to slow down, fully examine her

photographs, and learn from her. Mayes is a talented photographer because she constantly

captures the world through photographs of common experiences that evoke common emotions.

In an Elaine Mayes photograph, one feels a sense of relatability, more specifically a feeling of

“I’ve lived that before” and “I’ve been there.” For example, Mayes takes photographs of a man
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shoveling snow, a couple holding hands, and even a bus driving along the road. As a result,

these moments prove to be visually pleasing, and viewers reach a sense of relatability and

commonality when they see the photographs. The exhibition includes more strengths then

weaknesses but it’s definitely a life changing experience. The series From The Series From

Things On the Ground focuses mainly on the simplicity of photography but I’m sure that every

viewer somehow will find those images spectacular in a way. “In The Present: Five Decades”

effectively gives its subjects very impactful visuals that most of us don’t get to see everyday.

Mayes her use of film makes photography interesting in this new age with all the technology

we have nowadays. What makes her work unique is the way the pictures are being displayed at

the museum and the way every single photo has been taken. She’s best known for her vintage

styles that she includes in her exhibition. She purposefully creates what hasn’t been created yet

even though not all questions can be answered when a viewer explores her work. Over the years

she’s trying to highlight what America has been missing visually.

“In The Present: Five Decades” truly connects with the viewers that visit by allowing

them to relate to her photographs. Viewers recall similar experiences when they view her work.

In addition to that, they are able to empathize with the emotions of the photographs. Most

importantly, these new photographers need to take the time to appreciate the aspects of life that

get overlooked. People now find the beauty of everyday scenes. With that being said, viewers

interested in photography now have inspiration and someone to model their work after. Doing

photography is more like a lifestyle compared to doing it as a hobby. The exhibition gives it

subjects the individualized attention that the media sometimes denies to show. The audience

that view Mayes’ exhibition will begin to view the world through the lens of her camera, that’s

why In The Present: Five Decades is an exhibition you don’t want to miss.
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Works Cited

Casper, Jim. “On the Road in America: 1960 and ‘70s.’’ Lensculture.

www.lensculture.com/articles/elaine-mayes-on-the-road-in-america-1960s-and-70s. Accessed

5 November 2018

Elaine Mayes Photographer. “Contact.” www.elainemayesphoto.com/contact.html. Accessed

2 November 2018.

Estrin, James. “Elaine Mayes: In the World and Always Photographing.” The New York

Times, 28

July 2015. www.lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/elaine-mayes-in-the-world-and-

always-photographing/. Accessed 9 November 2018

“Exhibitions: Elaine Mayes: In The Present: Five Decades.” SCADMAO, 2018.

www.scadmoa.org/art/exhibitions/2018/elaine-mayes-in-the-present-five-decades.

Accessed 5 November 2018.

Jones, Gregory E. “Interview with Elaine Mayes, Photographer and Educator.” Petapixel, 15

October

2013. www.petapixel.com/2013/10/15/interview-elaine-mayes-photographer-

educator/. Accessed 6 November 2018.