Opening September 3 at the Grunwald Gallery of Art at the Indiana University Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, “Intimate Alchemy: David Levinthal’s XXX Polaroids” showcases two series of images by a postmodern photographer frequently credited with deconstructing popular American culture. Over five decades, Levinthal has made highly constructed images exploring such tropes as war, space exploration, racism, and sexuality by photographing plastic figures to realistic effect by means of shallow focus, theatrical lighting, and strategic cropping.
The exhibition opens with a reception Friday, September 6 from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Grunwald Gallery of Art, 1201 E. 7th St. in Bloomington, and remains on view through November 16. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 12 - 4 p.m. The gallery hosts a talk by the artist Thursday, October 17 at 5 p.m. with a reception to follow, from 6 - 8 p.m.
Between 1999 and 2001, Levinthal photographed constructed model kits of erotic fantasy figures. Shot with a Polaroid view camera that produced 20” x 24” images, the resulting “XXX” series appears to portray real women in various states of undress, while at the same time subtly undermining the illusion. The exhibition coincides with the photographer’s recent gift to the Kinsey Institute of 60 dolls he photographed to make the “XXX” images. Several of the dolls, along with 26 of the complete set of 272 photographs in the “XXX” series that the Kinsey Institute also owns, will be on display.
Read the Kinsey Institute's announcement of Levinthal's gift
The show was curated by Rebecca Fasman, curator of the Kinsey Institute Library and Special Collections; IU Professor Emeritus Claude Cookman; and Miami University Teaching Professor of Art History Jennifer Pearson Yamashiro. Essays by Cookman and Yamashiro have been published at the Kinsey Institute blog.
Read Claude Cookman, "Alchemist David Levinthal transforms plastic into XXX flesh"
Read Jennifer Pearson Yamashiro, "Soft Edge: An Artist's Journey"
“Levinthal acknowledges pitting photography’s presumed veracity against the viewer,” writes Cookman. “But he goes a step [farther]. He wants viewers to balance their assumption of credibility with the knowledge that [the photograph] is not real. The magic comes in seeing an image both ways.”
"Levinthal makes us consider the line between reality and fantasy,” writes Fasman. “He uses the dolls as artifice to create a new reality, and the inclusion in this exhibition of the original source material for these incredibly beautiful photographs helps us see not just what a technician Levinthal is, but also how crafted and purposeful the construction of these fantasy women is. I hope audiences feel compelled to think critically and creatively about the construction of imagery through the brilliant work of this acclaimed photographer."
“Intimate Alchemy” will also feature Levinthal’s “Netsuke” series, taken with a 3” x 3” SX-70 Polaroid camera, which focuses on erotic netsuke. The commercially available small tourist trinkets Levinthal photographs are based on objects originally produced in Japan during the Edo Period.
“Levinthal’s work shows a fertile imagination,” writes Cookman, “not just plumbing history but examining how art, photography, and other media have created our cultural stereotypes and collective memory.”
About the Grunwald Gallery of Art
The Grunwald Gallery of Art in the Indiana University Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design presents contemporary works by professional and student artists in a special exhibition format. Exhibitions incorporate art from a variety of contemporary genres and approaches and can be experimental or traditional. The Grunwald Gallery frequently collaborates with artists, scientists, and scholars to produce exhibits that interpret visual art in a broader humanities and interdisciplinary context.
About the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University
For over 75 years, the Kinsey Institute has been the premier research institute on human sexuality and relationships and a trusted source for evidence-based information on critical issues in sexuality, gender, reproduction, and well-being. The Kinsey Institute's research program integrates scholarly fields including neuroscience, psychology, public health, anthropology, history, and gender studies. Kinsey Institute outreach includes traveling art exhibitions, public scholarships, research lectures, and a human sexuality education program.
