By Spencer Ferron-Tripp
In the middle of a municipal election, posters abound and portraits sound the considered image of our politicians. Take a closer look, and recognize the art of portrait photography.
That’s the idea behind the Portraits of Our Past: A History of Photography in Ottawa collection at the Bytown Museum, an exhibit substantially dedicated to political portraits since Confederation.
From a yellowed photograph of Sir John A. Macdonald to a photo of Charlotte Whitton, Ottawa’s first woman mayor, in her trademark gunslinger pose, political figures dominate the exhibit.
The collection features the work of 13 world-class local photographers in over 100 photographs.
But this “history of photography in Ottawa” does not constitute a portrait of our region. Museum visitors may be disappointed to find no portraits of local celebrities, and few local landscapes and scenes such as the Byward Market.
Shallow attempts at introducing some breadth and scope to the collection only clutter the small viewing area. For example, a novelty item like the “Leningrad 4” light-meter from Russia has no thematic place in the collection, except that it was once used by an Ottawa photographer.
But this doesn’t overshadow the vivid portraits taken by some of the most celebrated photographers in Canada. Yousuf and Malak Karsh are the most recognizable names among the ensemble cast.
Karsh’s portrait of the Queen once graced the front of the Canadian one-dollar bill from 1974 to 1987. His brother Malak decorated the other side of the bill with his image of log rollers on the Ottawa River.
“You talk about Hale-Bop coming around every 10,000 years, how often do you get Yousuf and Malak Karsh in one collection together?” asks Michael Bedford, one of the featured photographers.
Bedford’s own collection is just as good. One stand-out photograph is of a brooding George Chuvalo, the former Canadian heavyweight champion, curling his hands into a fist. The passive emotion in his stare is gut-wrenching.
The main room of the exhibit is devoted to the black and white prints of Ottawa’s lesser-known photographers. Artists such as Samuel McLaughlin, the “Official Photographist” of the Parliament Buildings, whose own studio was located in the attic of the West Block.
Unfortunately, almost all of the photos are slightly blurred by a matte mylar covering which protects the prints. The filmy covering makes it impossible to appreciate the detail in the photography.
Certainly, it is difficult to argue with the need to preserve these historic prints, but it is to the detriment of an otherwise fine exhibit.
If, as they say, a picture is worth a thousands words, this collection is singing the praise of Ottawa’s portrait photographers.