A Collective Invention: Photographs at Play signals the debut of photography as a curatorial focus at the Morgan. With over eighty works from more than two dozen collections arranged into a surprising chain of visual associations, the exhibition explores the many ways of interpreting a photograph and pays tribute to the unique role played by the creative collector. Each photograph in the exhibition shares a visual or conceptual quality with the piece to its left, another with the one to its right. Embodying photography's rich history and wide range of applications in science, art, propaganda, journalism, and self-promotion, A Collective Invention celebrates a medium that mirrors the energy and complexity of modern life.
Heinz Hajek-Halke (German, 1898–1983). Erotik—Ganz Groß! (Erotic—In a Big Way!), 1928–32. Gelatin silver print. Collection of David Raymond. © Michael Ruetz, Heinz Hajek-Halke Archiv/Courtesy Johanna Breede PHOTOKUNST.