Tufts University Christian Walker: The Profane and the Poignant
Installation View
Written by: Max Wiener
Photo Edited by: Billy Delfs
Tufts University Christian Walker: The Profane and the Poignant
Jan 24 – Apr 21
SMFA at Tufts, 230 Fenway, Boston
The raw and stunning nature of Chistian Walker’s camera is put on a full and harrowing display in The Profane and the Poignant.
Christian Walker : Untitled (Boston’s Combat Zone), c. 1979-83
Gelatin silver print
6.25 x 9 in.
Collection of David VanHoy
Few photographers have the ability to use the lens of their camera to fully transport you to different worlds. Doing so unlocks feelings and emotions the average mind could only dream of experiencing. One of these photographers is Christian Walker. Through him, our worlds become an expanded roadmap of human emotion and experience. His images provide the full scope of the plight of man that many of us would never endure. At the Tufts University Art Gallery in Boston, The Profane and the Poignant presents Walker’s work as a beautiful look at late photographer’s most intimate works. He examined his delicate relationship with sexuality and the queer identity in Boston and Atlanta. Through his lens, we hear the voices of the unheard and feel the experiences of what was then an overlooked community. In pictures alone, he tells a dense story, leaving us humbled. Tufts’ exhibition opened on January 24th, with a scheduled closing of April 21st.
Moreover, Christian Walker applied his artistic voice not just for self-exploration, but for education. With his work our understanding of the world is heightened. He has such a beautifully unique ability to capture his world, almost as if he’s inviting us into something. He opens up his circle for us to join, serving as a campfire of artistic puzzle pieces joining to tell the stories of the less fortunate. Walking through the gallery and examining each piece as they appear has a different feeling. The talent of Walker shines in his ability to have dissimilar pieces feeding off each other and singing in perfect harmony.
Christian Walker : Another Country, c. 1990s
Ink and oil on gelatin silver print
20 x 24 in.
Collection of the High Museum of Art, Atlanta;
Gift of Lucinda W. Bunnen for the Bunnen Collection. 1995.95.3
In his images, Walker either greatly highlights his subjects or purposefully blurs them; doing so provides a fleeting youthfulness. In one images from his groundbreaking book The Theater Project, we see two men sharing a romantic, public moment. Walker’s choice to blur this image only adds to its momentous meaning, as it feels as if we - the lens of the camera - have mere seconds to view this flashpan experience. We place ourselves in the past while examining this image. The effect is imperative, as it makes it resonate even deeper. These men could not enjoy the luxury of a still image because it was frowned upon and looked down on. Stillness would represent progress, yet this image proves that society was far behind in their acceptance of homosexuality in the 1980s. Rather than blurred to obscure their identities, these Images today of gay couples are highlighted. It proves that, to some degree, we have progressed and advanced as a society- while work remains. Let Christian Walker’s work promote a moral lesson. Namely, to remind us not to be complacent in progress, for then we will remain an eternally stagnant society.
