The Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago's newest exhibit titled "MoCP at Fifty: Collecting Through the Decades" celebrates five decades of collecting.
"We have a collection of about 18,000 photographs, and each gallery marks one decade in collecting," said MoCP Curator of Academic Programs and Collections Kristin Taylor. "There's five separate galleries, and they take you on a little bit of a journey throughout the museum's history."
The exhibit features 135 photos from the museum's collection and includes work by artists such as Joel Sternfeld, Barbara Crane and Matthew Finley.
MoCP Executive Director Natasha Egan said the exhibit is as much an archive of history as it is of art, and that the collections' evolution mirrors the trends of society.
"It's a conversation constantly in each of the galleries, constant dialogue between what's happening now with contemporary art in conversation with the historical history of photography," Egan said.
Chief Curator & Deputy Director Karen Irvine said the exhibit presents "endless opportunities to engage with the work."
"I always hope that when people view art that they walk away thinking about something," she said. "There's an enormous range of topics addressed and artists represented that we hope it's enjoyable for everyone"
"MoCP at Fifty: Collecting Through the Decades" is on view now through May 16.