'Image Building' At The Parrish Art Museum Shows Photography's Influence On Architecture

The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill—itself designed by the acclaimed Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron—will explore how photography from the 1930s to the present has changed architecture in the new exhibition “Image Building.”

The show features 57 images from 21 historical and architectural photographers curated by Therese Lichtenstein, Ph.D., plus magazines and books that illustrate how the meaning of photography shifts when presented in the context of high art or mass culture, according to the Parrish, which states that photographers capture the spirit of a building or cityscape, often in a way that challenges the viewer’s perception and understanding of it.

The exhibition is organized by three themes: Cityscapes, Domestics Spaces and Public Places.

The Parrish seeks to examine the relationship between contemporary and historical approaches to photographing buildings in urban, suburban and rural environments to create a dialogue between the past and present and reveal ways photography shapes and frames the perception of architecture over time. For example, “Image Building” includes shots of Rockefeller Center from both 1933 and 2001.

Following the exhibition at the Parrish, “Image Building” will travel to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, Tennessee, from July 20 to October 28.

“Image Building: How Photography Transforms Architecture” will be on public display at the Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, from March 18 to June 17. Visit parrishart.org or call 631-283-2118.