From Ansel Adams’ American West landscapes to Alex Prager’s cinematic technicolor stills, the AIPAD Photography Show, opening tomorrow in New York City, presents the best in both vintage and contemporary fine art photography from across the nation and abroad. Artists include revered masters such as Robert Adams, Harry Callahan, Walker Evans, Andre Kertesz, Helen Levitt, and Man Ray, as well as contemporary photographers like Sally Mann, Roger Ballen, Robert Mapplethorpe, Andrew Bush, Esko Männikkö, Sally Gall, and Simen Johan. And this year’s event brings with it some surprises. Gary Edwards Gallery from Washington, DC, shows a 1963 portrait of Chairman Mao by an unknown photographer from the Xinhua Agency. One hundred million copies of the portrait, it is rumored, have been printed, and it was the inspiration for the monumental image of Chairman Mao hanging at Tiananmen Gate in Beijing and Andy Warhol’s 1972 Mao screenprints. Whether or not you can make the event, check out a sample of the highlights — including the photo of Chairman Mao — and see why AIPAD is one of the most important international photography events occurring today.
