Is photography in danger of extinction in the social age?
Difficult time for this medium overblown by compulsive use, on the trade fair market exceptions are the established and historical names
3' min read
3' min read
Basel 2024 ratifies what can no longer be considered a trend but rather a confirmation: photography is going through an extremely difficult time, almost absent from the market except for the presence of historic or at least long-established names. Among the various reasons that, especially in the last ten years, have contributed to its weakening, almost a gradual disappearance, should be emphasised the uncertainty of an expressive medium that no longer seems to know how to observe the world by investigating it as it masterfully did for decades, still stunned by the advent of digital in the early 2000s and the multiple declinations that have resulted since then, and marred by the extreme use that social media make of it today. Added to this is an almost prone attitude towards the art market that determines an overflowing and obsessive search for ephemeral beauty in form, often reaching the limit of kitsch in the total absence of content. Confirmation also comes from the cancellation "in light of market conditions" of Photofairs New York, a fair that debuted in 2023 on the same dates and spaces as The Armory Show.
Weaknesses and frailties that are especially noticeable when looking at Western production - certainly European and partly American, as opposed to below the equator - where it is no coincidence that painting has returned to reign as the undisputed protagonist.
The trade fairs in the sector certify this trend, with few new works and only the works of established or historical authors of note. There is no exception Photo Basel: now in its sixth edition, and despite its contemporaneity with Art Basel, which should presuppose a presence of galleries and proposals of a level at least in line with the main fair, it succeeds in expressing nothing more than a selection of works and authors of an amateur level.
However, turning to the scant patrol of works in the pavilions of Art Basel and Unlimited, we can enjoy a quality excursion from the last century to the few survivors of the latest generations: New York's Edwynn Houk gallery offers a precious nude by Meret Hoppenheim in postcard format by Man Ray from 1933 (7.9 x 12.3 cm, printed by the photographer in Paris from the original negative, price $115.000 $) and one of the masterpieces of Edward Weston's Mexican period, "Cuernavaca" from 1925 (24.4 x 18.4 cm, price 285.000 $), both vintage; Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco presentsDiane Arbus and Hiroshi Sugimoto (of whom a beautiful screen in Unlimited), and with them a moving portrait ofMarylin Monroe by Richard Avedon in 1957.
Among the African-American artists, the real stars of this edition of Art Basel, at Jenkins Johnson Gallery we find an exciting vintage group photograph by Gordon Parks, while the winner of the Hassselblad Award 2023, Carrie Mae Weems is at Gladstone Gallery as well as Fraenkel. A fine and rich selection of works by Catherine Opie is offered by Regen Projects, and recent works by the ChineseYang Fudong can be found at Sprüth Magers and ShanghART (for a long roll of Yang Fudong's mural-sized work, the price range is $260,000 to $320,000), the latter also representingRobert Zhao Renhui, whose installation in the official Singapore pavilion at the last Venice Biennale. His photos range from $6,500 to $7,500. Finally, Pace and Thomas Zander present in the Unlimited pavilion the complete version of 84 photographs printed in 1983 of Robert Frank's famous 'The Americans': a more than valid reason, a unique opportunity, to visit Art Basel this year.
