James Benning and Sharon Lockhart

Herzfeld Center for Photography and Media Arts

American artists James Benning and Sharon Lockhart are separated by a generation, yet they both cite the influence of the other’s films on their work. This two-part exhibition pairs the work of these two accomplished artists to highlight how close, studied observation can deepen and enrich often overlooked, everyday experiences.

Over the course of his forty-year career, experimental filmmaker and Milwaukee native Benning (b. 1942) has investigated the structure of film, exploring duration and sound. Similarly, Lockhart (b. 1964) has sought to push the temporal language of film in large-scale, collaborative installations. The photographs and films featured in the exhibition express how film, too, is photographic in nature, and offer extended views of a range of landscapes.

Image: Sharon Lockhart, Eight Samples from James Benning’s Beer Bottle Collection: Schlitz, Leinenkugel’s, People’s, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Chief, Miller High Life, Point, Blatz, 2007 (detail)