Balboa Park museum celebrates photographic pioneers

By: CRAIG TENBROECK - Staff Writer | Friday, July 21, 2006 4:51 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- With subjects ranging from warfare to poverty to technological innovation, photojournalists have long captured gripping images of violence, tragedy and joy.

The pioneers of this type of news gathering are celebrated in a trio of interconnected exhibits at the Museum of Photographic Arts at San Diego's Balboa Park.

The first exhibit, titled "Shooting in 35: The First 35mm Photographs," showcases how photojournalism came into its own following the introduction of smaller cameras.

Newsreels and radio broadcasts from the mid-20th century, which museum curator Carol McCusker handpicked "to enhance or elaborate on the photographs," are interspersed throughout the building.

Visitors transition seamlessly into the second exhibit ---- "Breaking the Frame: Pioneering Women in Photojournalism" ---- which highlights six female photojournalists who made an imprint on the medium in the 1920s to the 1950s, capturing angles and subjects that their contemporaries may have overlooked.

"In a lot of art museums, male artists still dominate," McCusker said. "I really wanted to balance that."

Some featured artists, like Margaret Bourke-White, are well-known to photography buffs. Others, like Therese Bonney and Olga Lander, have faded from public consciousness.

Many of their works are on display for the first time, McCusker said.

War and its ramifications are ever-present subjects. Several of the early female photographers built reputations on the battlefield, willing to endure intense hardships to get their images.

Their dedication and skill paved the way for the next generation, McCusker said.

"Sunday's Pioneers: Women Photojournalists in Iraq and Afghanistan" is the final exhibit, with 35 vivid images from contemporary photojournalists Andrea Bruce and Stephanie Sinclair.

In foreign lands, being female has often enabled the two to obtain images of domestic life unavailable to their male counterparts.

"They were allowed to get into areas where Muslim women wouldn't let in a male photographer," McCusker said.

"Sunday's Pioneers" will run through Sept. 17. "Shooting in 35" and "Breaking the Frame" will be on display through Sept. 24.

Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 631-6621 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.

Fast Facts


What: Museum of Photographic Arts

Where: 1649 El Prado, San Diego

Tickets: $6 for adults; $4 for seniors, students and military; free for members, children under 12 and school groups with reservations

Info: (619) 238-7559

Web: www.mopa.org