Friends and Enemies: Photographs by Julie Moos
September 6 - November 3, 2002

This exhibition presents works from one of Julie Moosâ recent series of portrait photographs, Friends and Enemies. In each of her portrait series Moos has been interested in examining objectively a specific socio-cultural milieu, placing her subjects in neutral environments, posed frontally and usually in pairs against a blank backdrop. The series Friends and Enemies was shot at a private high school in Moosâ home city of Birmingham, Alabama. At the invitation of the schoolâs principal, Moos spent several months during the 1999-2000 term interviewing students, teachers and counselors, as well as analyzing candid photographs in school publications.

Recognizing that much of the high school experience revolves around interpersonal relationships, and thinking about the violence that had recently occurred at Columbine High School in Colorado, Moos was sensitive to the friendships and rivalries which she discerned in the class of 2000 at the Birmingham school. Converting a classroom into a temporary studio for a week, with parental consent forms signed and students agreeing to participate, Moos selected students in pairs to be photographed, sometimes choosing students who were good friends and other times students who were enemies, rivals or barely knew each other. The students did not know with whom they would be paired until they arrived for their sessions.

In presenting her finished color images, which are printed large so that the sitters are virtually life-size, Moos does not inform viewers of the relationships among her subjects. With the stark settings and the face-forward poses that do not allow for interaction among the sitters, viewers are left to try to discern the feelings and relationships from the subtleties of codes of behavior reflected in body language, facial expressions, and styles of clothing and hair. Moosâ straightforward portraits are compelling for the way they evoke the nuances of character and personality in her subjects. At the same time her photographs challenge viewers to resolve the visual riddles they contain, bringing forth our own memories, experiences and preconceptions and making the photographs in a way portraits of ourselves as well.

This exhibition was organized by The Contemporary Museum in cooperation with Fredericks Freiser Gallery, New York, New York. Additional support is provided by American Airlines, CSX Lines and ASTON Waikiki Beachside Hotel.