An-My Lê, “Patient Admission, US Naval Hospital Ship Mercy, Vietnam,” archival pigment print, 2010
Murray Guy
453 West 17th St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Saturday, October 16, 4:30
Exhibition continues through October 30
Admission: free
212-463-7372
www.murrayguy.com
Vietnamese-American artist An-My Lê, who fled Saigon with her family in 1975 when she was fifteen, has been photographing war and the military since the early-to-mid-1990s, taking documentary shots of troops in training, Vietnam War reenactments, and landscapes of such bases as 29 Palms in California. In her latest series, on view at Murray Guy through October 30, Lê visited hospital ships, training areas, and landing sites in Haiti, Indonesia, Ghana, Egypt, Senegal, and Vietnam, capturing the men and women of the U.S. military in everyday situations and posing for the camera. Men in fatigues laze about in front of a lush green forest, a supply distribution convoy makes its way along a barren beach, a highly decorated officer prepares for a portrait session aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, one soldier helps another during combat life-saving training, and a security guard surveys the ocean landscape from the rail of the U.S. naval hospital ship Comfort. In the north gallery, Lê displays a succession of portraits of woman soldiers, including a line shack supervisor, an aircraft carrier arresting gear mechanic, and a forward look-out. Meanwhile, in the south gallery, five prints of the USS Dwight Eisenhower passing through the Suez Canal take the viewer on a brief ride. Although none of the shots involve actual combat on the front lines, together they offer a different look at war: gorgeously composed shots, many in spectacular deep focus, that are beautiful in their own right in or out of context. The exhibit can perhaps best be summarized by “Patient Admission,” which depicts a Buddhist monk and a U.S. soldier sitting on metal folding chairs aboard the US naval hospital ship Mercy, their hands in their laps, a silver vertical beam separating them in the background, a complex visual commentary on war and peace. An-My Lê will be at Murray Guy for a special discussion with writer Lynne Tillman on Saturday, October 16, at 4:30, shedding yet more light on this stunning series.