La Plage

Yesterday I viewed the Richard Misrach exhibit "On The Beach" at the National Gallery of Art. The prints are extremely large, some are six feet by ten feet. They are so big that you feel like you could crawl in them. Misrach shot the series from the balcony of a hotel room, over several years, using an 8x10 camera. He was trying to achieve the sense that the viewer is hovering over the subjects, and it works. You feel like you are floating over the people and the water. Misrach also intended the work to be a little unsettling, as his inspiration was the images of people falling from the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. At times some of the swimmers looked scared, particularly the image of two swimmers embracing. Overall, the vast water and sand left me feeling more peaceful than frightened. I was fascinated with the peculiar way in which he shows us behaving on the beach, from the trappings we bring, to the way we face the sun, the curious positions we find ourselves in, and even the way in which we float, swim and dive in the water. Perhaps it is my love for the beach that prevents me from feeling frightened the way that Misrach intended. Regardless, the exhibit is worth checking out, and will be on display at the National Gallery of Art, in the West Wing, until the end of beach season, September 1st.