{"id":514,"date":"2022-02-07T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madayin.kluge-ruhe.org\/?p=514"},"modified":"2023-01-27T21:28:18","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T21:28:18","slug":"photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madayin.kluge-ruhe.org\/photography\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographing the Ma\u1e0fayin Paintings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Image 1<\/strong> (Left side) Minyapa Mununggurr, M\u00e4na at Wandawuy<\/em>, 1996, Natural pigments of barks, 83 3\/8 x 32 3\/8 x 1 3\/4 in. (212 x 82 x 4.5 cm), Collection of John W. Kluge, 1996.0035.008 Image 2<\/strong> (Right side) Menga Mununggurr, M\u00e4na in Fish Trap<\/em>, 1996, Natural pigments on bark, 95 3\/4 x 27 7\/8 x 1 3\/8 in. (243 x 71 x 3.5 cm), Collection of John W. Kluge, 1996.0035.010<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I think of every exhibition as a partnership \u2013or at least, made up of partnerships. Partnerships with artists and knowledge holders, partnerships with my colleagues and our respective departments, partnerships with vendors, contractors and craftspeople. As Ma\u1e0fayin<\/em> began to unfold, the depth and breadth of those partnerships came into sharp focus \u2013 literally. A partnership with a photographer, in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the scope of the exhibition and catalog took shape, we knew it would be incredibly important to have stunning photographs of each painting on the checklist. As we considered the enormity of this task, I think we all had the same questions: How do you capture the majesty of bark painting in a way that translates on the screen and on the page? How do you take a media like painting, that people often think about in two dimensions, and help them see that bark paintings are undeniably three dimensional with all their subtle (and not so subtle) topography? Take those questions and multiply them by big paintings in small spaces \u2013 paintings so tall, in fact, that they cannot be exhibited on-site at the museum because the ceilings are too low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henry and I discussed how the images should look and feel, our pie-in-the-sky hopes for how the images would appear on phones, computer screens and in books. We thought about what we loved, and maybe didn\u2019t love, about existing images of bark paintings. When we met with photographer Neil Greentree<\/a>, we shared with him the blueprint of our desires and the realities of our space. I\u2019m not sure what I expected, but it wasn\u2019t an infectious grin and an immediate confirmation that it could be done. All of it! In the confines of our gallery spaces!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the months that followed our initial meeting, Neil and I negotiated our way through countless phone calls and a mountain of emails \u2013 and even the onset of a global pandemic. Working through numerous revisions, we formulated a game plan, firmed up the list of equipment and set about the task of making our photographic dreams a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Neil\u2019s specialized photography equipment, including a cinematic boom arm with custom 3D printed components, we photographed the paintings flat on the floor using a simple stage made of archival foam core. Despite the space constraints, Neil was able to set up his camera, all the lighting and reflectors, his computer system and the photography stage in one room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gambali Ngurruwutthun\u2019s Munyuku W\u00e4nga<\/em>, 1996 (1996.0025.027) on set to be photographed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the adjacent galleries, I worked with a small, skilled team of art handlers to move each painting from its storage location to a staging area where it was assessed by conservator E.D. Rambo. As Neil flexed his photography skills in one gallery and E.D. evaluated the condition of each painting in another gallery, Henry and I were able to take turns reviewing the images in real time on an iPad remotely connected to Neil\u2019s capture software. Like a well-choreographed dance, the art handlers and I moved from gallery to gallery, storage space to storage space. We remeasured each painting to confirm its dimensions, returned paintings to their respective storage locations after imaging, and placed new works under the camera for photography \u2013 all without missing a beat.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Narritjin Maymuru\u2019s Yingapungapu<\/em>, before 1972 (1993.0004.857) waiting for conservation assessment.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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Left:<\/strong> Djambawa Marawili\u2019s Madarrpa Miny’tji<\/em> (1996.0035.014) and Right:<\/strong> Gambali Ngurruwutthun\u2019s Munyuku W\u00e4nga<\/em> (1996.0025.027) waiting to be photographed.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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Live feed of Djambawa Marawili\u2019s Madarrpa Miny’tji<\/em> (1996.0035.014) on the iPad remotely connected to Neil\u2019s digital capture software.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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Detail of Minyapa Mununggurr, M\u00e4na at Wandawuy,<\/em> 1996, Natural pigments of barks, 83 3\/8 x 32 3\/8 x 1 3\/4 in. (211.77 x 82.23 x 4.45 cm), Collection of John W. Kluge, 1996.0035.008<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

There were moments during the project when I thought a painting may be too large to photograph here or our space isn\u2019t big enough to accommodate both a painting and the stage. Each time, we found the solution; each time, we found a little more room \u2013 in one instance Neil\u2019s camera was raised so high it had to rest against the ceiling to get the shot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miriam-Webster defines partner as one associated with another especially in action. Not surprisingly, partnership is defined as the state of being a partner. Mr. Greentree was our partner in this phase of Ma\u1e0fayin<\/em> and through that partnership I\u2019d like to believe we achieved what we were after \u2013 capturing the majesty of bark painting for the page and the screen!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think of every exhibition as a partnership \u2013or at least, made up of partnerships. Partnerships with artists and knowledge holders, partnerships with my colleagues and our respective departments, partnerships with vendors, contractors and craftspeople. As Ma\u1e0fayin began to unfold, the depth and breadth of those partnerships came into sharp focus \u2013 literally. A partnership […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,73,35],"tags":[15,23,14,10,13,63,64,62,61,12,11],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPhotographing the Ma\u1e0fayin Paintings - Kluge-Ruhe: Madayin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How do you capture the majesty of bark painting in a way that translates on the screen and on the page?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/madayin.kluge-ruhe.org\/photography\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Photographing the Ma\u1e0fayin Paintings - 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