Joseph Bellows Gallery presents an online exhibition of the work ofOscar Bailey : Abstract. In 1960, John Canady wrote:
Paint Surface by Oscar Bailey is an abstraction that also intensifies our response to reality, in this case not by evoking or reinforcing already formed associations, but by revealing a new aspect of something so familiar that we never look at it through ourselves.
Obviously the limitation of the camera is that it must start with the world of literal facts and cannot go much beyond without violating its own integrity. But the artist-photographer's perception of the inner meanings of his subject can even be heightened when, in order to record it, he must work within these limits. I suspect we could muster arguments, from this beginning, to show that photography rather than painting is the legitimate Art of our technological century. But I'm not going to do it.
– John CanadyNew York Times art critic, for Art In America, spring 1960
The elastic line between reality and photography has been stretched relentlessly, but it has not been broken. These abstractions of nature have not left the world of appearances; because this amounts to breaking the strong point of the camera: its authenticity.
– Minor White1950
Oscar Bailey (American, 1925-2010), received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wilmington College in Ohio in 1951, and in 1958 he graduated from the Master of Fine Arts program at Ohio State University with a degree in photography. After graduating, he began teaching at the University at Buffalo New York, where he taught from 1958 to 1969. During this period, he became a founding member of the Society for Photographic Education (1962), working to develop new directions in photography teaching. In 1969, Bailey left Buffalo to start the photography program at the University of South Florida, where he taught until his retirement in 1985. At USF, Bailey became an active participant in the Graphicstudio program, bringing his photographic expertise to a number of projects. , including those with James Rosenquist, Robert Rauchenberg and Ed Ruscha.
Joseph Bellows Gallery
7661 Girard Ave.
La Jolla, CA 92037
www.josephbellows.com
