Positively MIlwaukee
New exhibit at Milwaukee Art Museum shows 75 years of color photography in America
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Melissa McCrady talks about Color Rush: 75 Years of Color Photography in America, the latest exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Video by tmj4.com
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MILWAUKEE - Every single image on display at the Milwaukee Art Museum is in color, including the only color photos of the Hindenburg going down.
The photographs we take and see these days are in color, something most of us take for granted.
But Color Rush: 75 Years of Color Photography in America, the latest exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum, is humbling.
Lisa Sutcliffe is curator of photography.
"It's really hard to imagine what it would've been like to see color as something new and strange because we're so used to color now,” she said.
Color Rush shows 200 color images starting in 1907, when color photography was first commercially available.
"At the time it was really controversial and they had gotten so used to black and white that that is what looked real to them so color took some time to take hold," Sutcliffe said.
Milwaukee photographer Edward Steichen took a picture, then exposed it in many different ways.
Today we have Instagram for that.
“He was really one of the first experimenters in color," she added.
In addition to photographs, there are slideshows, advertisements and magazine covers.
"The thing that's great about this show is there's something for everyone," Sutcliffe said.
You can only see this exhibit here in Milwaukee. It runs through may 19th, and everyone gets in free on Thursdays.
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