fall 1985 - summer 1986 exhibition program

Beginning in 1985, the PRC moved into newly-renovated facilities in the basement of 602 Commonwealth Avenue, their third home on the Boston University campus since the late 1970s. With a successful capital campaign that raised over $350,000 to renovate the space donated by BU, the PRC was able to expand into just below a space already familiar to them (the Morse auditorium had been the site of the PRC's acclaimed major lectures series), and roughly quadruple the size of their previous 1019 Commonwealth Avenue offices.

Closer to Kenmore Square, the new location afforded space for two galleries, darkroom/workshop facilities, offices, and an expanded library. For the first time in the PRC's history, they had a major gallery space to showcase contemporary photographic exhibitions. The PRC moved to its present location at 832 Commonwealth Avenue in March 2003.

For Kids' Sake: Photographs of Today's Youth
November 8 – December 21, 1985
Co-sponsored with WBZ-TV, this first exhibition at the PRC's new gallery space at 602 Commonwealth featured works by 23 New England photographers as well as photographs by local youth. The show addressed issues confronting youth through portraits, family environments, and social issues. Photographers included Joan M. Albert, Max Belcher, Linda Benedict-Jones, Polly Brown, Marna G. Clarke, Maryjean V. Crowe, Michael Finlan, Mary Frey, Judy Gelles, Robin Gile, Susan Kandel, Patricia Kelliher, Franz C. Nicolay, Susan Lirakis Nicolay, Phil in Phlash, Rosemary Porter, Doug Prince, Bill Ravenesi, Janice Rogovin, Sheron Rupp, James Shea, Leslie Starobin, and Linda Swartz.

Playing it Again: Strategies of Appropriation
January 9 – February 21, 1986
Playing it Again featured photographs by twelve contemporary artists who incorporated mass media images from magazines, newspapers and television into their photographs. The show featured photographs by Sarah Charlesworth, Patrick Clancy, Peter D'Agostino, Stephen Frailey, Suzanne Hellmuth, Barbara Kruger, Mike Mandel, Richard Prince, Jock Reynolds, Larry Sultan, Gwen Widmer, and Reese Williams. It was organized by the Center for Contemporary Arts of Santa Fe and curated by Sam Samore.

Kim Mosley and Francois Deschamps
February 7 – March 7, 1986
This exhibition of photographic works combined text and images by Kim Mosley and Francois Deschamps.

Photomosaics: The Landscape Reconstructed
March 6 – April 4, 1986
This exhibition featured photographically reconstructed landscapes. Artists included were Marjorie Bal, Thomas Barrow, Laurie Brown, Deborah Bright, Jerry Burchfield/ Mark Chamberlain, Jan Dibbets, Robert Flick, Steven Foster, Luigi Ghirri, Dennis Grady, David Hockney, Peter Hutchinson, Patrick Nagatani, Susan Rankaitis, Danilo Sartoni, James Turrell, and Vida.

WAR
April 10 – May 16, 1986
This was an exhibition of images of war focusing on Northern Ireland, the Middle East, and Central America by photojournalists and photographically-oriented mixed media artists. It also included photographs by Derrill Bazzy and Claudia Gordillo of people residing in war-torn countries.

Public Exposures/ Private Visions
May 22 – June 28, 1986
This exhibition featured commercial and personal images by photographers who incorporated individual visions and aesthetic concerns into their professional work. The artists included Cheryl Rossum, Wayne Eastep, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Sandi Fellman, Harry Wilks, Arthur Meyerson, and Burton Pritzker, among others.