In an effort to increase our ever-expanding collection of contemporary photographs, the MoCP has recently acquired works by John Opera, Ben Golden, Anthony Haughey, and several portfolios featuring works from various artists. We have picked a few of the new images and artists to share with you below.

John Opera, Rotating Ice Disk, 2005

Midwest Photographer Project artist John Opera (above) showed us his lush landscapes and entrancing abstractions at this summer’s exhibition MP3: Volume II. His images explore the transcendentalist notion of the importance of the individual soul and the acquisition of self-knowledge via the divinity of nature. By contrasting and pairing figuration and geometric abstractions, Opera probes the powerful links between emotion, intellect, and perception.

Damien Hirst. AIDS/HIV Drugs, 2008, from the Elton John AIDS Foundation Photography Portfolio I

Ruud van Empel, World #33, 2008, from the Elton John AIDS Foundation Photography Portfolio I

The Photography Portfolio I, a portfolio of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, is a collection of photographs donated to the Foundation by photographers Nan Golden, Rudd van Empel, Sally Mann, Richard Misrach, Sam Taylor-Wood, Damien Hirst, Shirin Neshat, Katy Grannan, Juergen Teller, and Thomas Struth. Ruud van Empel (above) portrays black children amidst a colorful mixture of nature from all over the world – often originating from botanical gardens. His interests lay in the fact that, currently, the depiction of black children as an image of innocence and beauty has no precedent in the Western tradition of visual art and popular culture. (From the Ruud van Empel site.)

Patrick Stearns, Westside Light Rail series, November 17, 1995, from The Great Northwest Portfolio

The Great Northwest Portfolio features work by fifteen of the Pacific Northwest’s most accomplished and photographers: Paul Berger, Stu Levy, Phil Borges, Susan Seubert, Christopher Burkett, Patrick Stearns, Peter de Lory, Christopher Rauschenberg, Ford Gilbreath, Glenn Rudolph, Craig Hickman, Terry Toedtemeier, Cherie Hiser, Carrie Mae Weems, and Ann Hughes. Patrick Stearns (above) photographs construction projects during many phases, often for commissioned projects in Oregon. His personal and historical ties to the Oregon area inspire “a contemporary yet timeless quality” to his images of these local projects. (From the Oregon Arts Commission.)

Many prints from these portfolios are the first in the MoCP’s collection of some of these artists. We feel lucky and happy to have acquired these new works and to be able to make them available to you 24/7 at mocp.org/collections.