CLOUD ALBUM. Photographs from the Archive of Modern Conflict
The Polygon Gallery. North Vancouver, Canada
MARCH 11, 2022 — MAY 1, 2022
Curated by Luce LEBART and Timothy PRUS.
At the dawn of photography, when photographs required long exposures, taking images of clouds was near impossible. It wasn’t until the second half of the nineteenth century, with improvements in technique and technology, that photographers could begin capturing the infinite variability of clouds.
Cloud Album features 250 works – including photographs, albums, and books – that range from the origins of photography to the dawn of satellite imagery, all drawn from the collection of the Archive of Modern Conflict in London. Cloud Album seeks to celebrate the breadth and beauty of images of clouds and the uniqueness of the passionate practice – of scientists, amateurs, and artists alike – of photographing the sky. Through this, the exhibition draws a picture of the history of the sky, the history of photography, and the ways in which they are intertwined.
Department of Defense, USA Atomic Bomb Test, 1946
Alexander Henderson, Study of Clouds, Canada, 1865
Edward Steichen, US Army Skylark aerial photograph, WW1
Gustave Le Gray, The Brig, Normandy, 1856
Mario Giacomelli, Migratory Birds in Flight, Italy, 1953
https://thepolygon.ca/exhibition/cloud-album/