Anyway you look at it, this is not something to be taken lightly. A solo exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is a crowning achievement for any artist, predominantly the privilege of dead white European men. Even the permanent Modern collection shows an overwhelming biased towards the deceased or no longer producing artists. So the mere presence of Shigeyuki Kihara's 'Living Photographs' exhibition is to be lauded. Beyond that, it is highly significant that everything about Kihara and her work breaks the dominant paradigm of the Met, defying the nomenclature of this traditional institution and challenging conventional museum audiences. 'Living Photographs' is mini-survey of her photographs from 1998-2004, including four works from each of the following series: 'Black Sunday', 'Fa'a Fafine: In a Manner of a Woman', 'Fale Aitu: House of Spirits' and 'Vavau: Tales from Ancient Samoa'. It has been noted that this is the first presentation of Samoan contemporary art at the Museum, but I would expand that statement to include much of the Pacific. It is not the habit of the Met to deal with contemporary art and it can seem suspiciously out of place. It was unfortunate for viewers that there was not a more expanded show, to include some of her multi-media work as well, however, then it really would have belonged in the realm of the Guggenheim or the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Especially exciting is that the show includes two pieces purchased by the Met, making her a part of their encyclopedic 2+ million collection.

Map of Metropolitan Museum, showing location of the Kihara exhibition.

As I said already, everything about this exhibition disturbs the logic of the institution and viewer that relies of typical categories. For starters, the location of the exhibit itself exposes the problematics of the Met's desire to classify. On the wall in the hallway that separates the Modern Art wing from the newly reinstalled Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas (AAOA) galleries, it becomes a segue that joins the two concepts while pointing up the vast chasm between them. As contemporary photography, they would typically be shown in the Photographs department special exhibition galleries. Curated by Dr. Virigina-Lee Webb, research curator in the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas and sponsored by the Friends of AAOA, so clearly they are meant to be associated with the AAOA department. There is a Photographic Study Collection in the AAOA department, yet it is comprised of the very ethnographic and colonial photographs that Kihara is challenging. I thought it would have been interesting, given this reality, to also show some of these, perhaps on the opposite side of the wall inside the AAOA galleries. As well, I thought there might have been some Samoan objects nearby, to give some traditional cultural context. However, not a single object from traditional Samoa was on display anywhere in the galleries. Unlike a gallery, education is (supposed to be) of the utmost importance in a museum. I thought the individual works were a bit overly curated, the show itself could have been better framed. The result is couched in terms of contemporary art in an ethnographic context.

While in New Zealand, the dusky maiden theme has been pretty well commented on and shown to be a colonial fantasy, here in America we are still struggling as general viewers to see the problems with it. Speaking with a few patrons who were viewing the exhibition, they were more hung up on the shocking aspect of the works - the nudity, (most nudes at the Met are painted or sculpted, not 'real') and the reveal in the final piece of the 'Fa'a Fafine: In a Manner of a Woman' triptych distracted them from considering gender stereotypes and colonialism. Yet it was the most powerful series in the exhibit that people were drawn to as soon as they got off the elevators or turned the corner from the AAOA. This is the blessing of the segue exhibition. If the exhibit is located in a far-flung corner that people get tired of walking or get distracted and never get there, while being in the hall, people who never even intended to see it will pass by and take a look, hopefully encouraging them to find out more.

Shigeyuki Kihara (Samoan, b.1975) Photographer: Sean Coyle My Samoan Girl, Fa'a Fafine: In the Manner of a Woman, 2004-2005 Purchase, Evelyn A.J. Hall Charitable Trust and Stephanie H. Bernheim Gifts, 2007

Dr. Webb has stated that, "Kihara has created exceptionally beautiful and inventive works that simultaneously merge colonial images, performance, and contemporary photography ... Her 'living photographs,' as she calls them, are visually powerful commentaries about moments in the history of art, differing cultural traditions, and outsiders' perceptions of them." While I agree, they are so much more. Having worked at the Met years ago, it was refreshing to see these beautiful and provocative works on show and hopefully this exposure will impress the thousands that visit during the holiday season.

Ashley E. Remer is currently living and trying to work in New York. She most recently wrote for Christie's Impressionism and Modernism department.

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