Surf Land
The Peabody Essex Museum is a hidden gem tucked away on the winding streets of historical Salem, MA. The Museum boasts an extensive Asian Art collection, including the Yin Yu Tang House, an entire Chinese house that was transported piece-by-piece from China to America and reconstructed on the Museum grounds- it is estimated that the house is between 175 to 200 years old!
While the Yin Yu Tang is one of the major draws of the Institution, I frequent the Peabody Essex (which is only about 15 minutes from my flat) for it's rotating photography exhibitions. The most recent exhibition 'SurfLand: Photographs by Joni Sternbach' does not disappoint. Sternbach utilizes traditional tintype photography techniques to capture portraits and seascapes of East and West Coast surfers. The subjects of her portraits run the gamut from young to old, fit to overweight, famous to everyday; but all of that is stripped away in her images, what the audience sees is a simple portrait of a surfer, accompanied by a tag stating their name and location. It is a beautiful exhibition and I left wanting to learn the tintype technique myself. The exhibition will be up through October 4, if you are planning on being in the North Shore area I highly recommend viewing this exhibition.
Ed, Joni Sternbach, 8 x 10 inches, tintype.
