The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) is a unique institution that we are fortunate to have in Chicago. Devoted to supporting contemporary photographers and to housing a wealth of images that represent prime examples of the medium, the museum's vast archives of photographs are comprised of more than 14,000 works by 1,465 artists. MoCP began collecting these works in 1979. 

As the leading photography museum in the Midwest, the MoCP has established a reputation for broadening the visual arts by introducing new national and international talent to the public. The MoCP is committed to broadening the visual arts by constantly searching for new national and international talent to exhibit.

The museum's latest exhibition, re:collection, which opened July 13 and runs through October 1, is a celebration of MoCP’s vast archive and an exploration of how we perceive images.   

Photography as a medium is distinctive in its relationship to the practice of sequencing. With its origins in cinematic frames and a typically flat, reproducible form, photography lends itself to a storyboard approach. Photo books and exhibitions often depend on, and capitalize on, the fact that photographs that work well as stand-alone images can be enhanced and enriched by the presence of other images in their vicinity. 

A stream of images runs through the galleries, spanning the history of photography and offering a diverse array of approaches. Each photograph speaks to its neighboring photograph in terms of content, form or another, more subtle, connecting factor waiting to be discovered. At certain junctures, tributaries are formed that group related ideas and address some of the most pressing social issues of our time. Each line of images starts with a camera-less construction, a nod to the beginnings of the medium when images were made without the camera apparatus as we know it today, and a gesture meant to underscore the unreliability of photographic representation.

re:collection is on view through October 1, 2017 at MoCP.

Top images: Left: Guillaume Simoneau; Top Right: Christian Patterson; Bottom Right: Rachel Papo