Paul Graham, Pittsburgh (Man Cutting Grass), 2004. One of nine pigmented inkjet prints. 30 x 40" (76.2 x 101.6 cm) � 2009 Paul Graham. Image Courtesy Museum of Modern Art, New York
Since then Graham has continued to explore the fertile territory where the documentary and artistic aspects of photography coalesce, often tackling difficult subject matter for a medium that is firmly based in the observable world. 'New Europe' (1988-1993) used a poetic flow of images to look at the tension between the shadow of history and the rush to an economic superstate in Western Europe. 'Empty Heaven' (1989-1995), considers the relationship between historical trauma and the childish fantasy world in Japan - themes that would later become central to the "Superflat" movement of contemporary Japanese art. More recently his work has reflected an examination of what we expect from a photographic image, be it a portrait - as in the hard:soft images of young people in 'End of an Age' (1996-98); or questioning what actually registers in our vision, with 'American Night' (1998-2003), which mirrored the social fracture of American society through deliberately overexposed, near invisible white images. Most recently Graham completed 'A Shimmer of Possibility' (2004-2007) that reflects everyday moments of American lives, whilst also examining photography's ability to compress or expand time, utilising flowing sequences of images.
At a time when art photography is increasingly staged, (Jeff Wall, Gregory Crewdson, Thomas Demand) or holds the world at a conceptualized distant view (Andreas Gursky, Berndt and Hilla Becher, Thomas Struth), Paul Graham's work distinguishes itself by retaining a firm and full commitment to life as it unfolds; to an understanding that at its core photography begins with an unblinking engagement with the world. Embracing this crucial axiom of photography Graham has been vital in reinvigorating this central area of practice, both by broadening photography's visual language, and, essentially, by questioning our notions of what such photography could say, be, or look like.
�Useful pictures start by seeing� Robert Adams
