Michael Weinstein

Although she is a photographic globetrotter, Susan McMillen is not motivated by exotic voyeurism, but by the intent to reveal the continuities of human life that pulse beneath the variegated skins of cultural forms. Always receptive to intimate details, McMillen moves in on telling and spontaneous expressions and gestures that epitomize our primal emotions. McMillen's most moving images are her black-and-white studies of "departures," shot in faraway places like western China and Kyrgyzstan, which have only come to our attention since the war in Afghanistan. Parting is deeply bittersweet sorrow under McMillen's lens; in her most poignant study, two pairs of withered bony hands capped with pointed and painted stiletto-like fingernails reach up fruitlessly toward the top of a stack of crates filled with plump, fresh and exquisitely rounded eggs.

Susan McMillen is showing at CCT Gallery, 1012 North Noble, (773)278-7471, through December 18.

(2002-11-06)

Also by Michael Weinstein

Tip of the Week
In a tour de force, Joan Truckenbrod has created a photo and video installation that combines a meditation on life and death with searing social criticism.
(2002-10-30)

Tip of the Week
Sally Mann has always been a dreamer. The provocative photographs of her children that made her famous were self-declared fantasies, rather than windows on their world, as many people perversely believed.
(2002-10-23)

Tip of the Week
In one of the most unabashedly beautiful series of contemporary photographs, Joel Sternfeld takes us to New York City's Highline, an abandoned elevated railroad track where he has found a dense wilderness of untamed vegetation that mutates kaleidoscopically through the seasons.
(2002-10-02)

Tip of the Week
Political and culturally critical art makes a comeback in this sharp-edged show.
(2002-08-14)

TIP OF THE WEEK
(2002-08-07)

about Newcitychicago | about Newcity magazine | advertising | privacy policy | FAQ | employment