New blood.

Change can be good. As easily as that word is thrown around in the United States it's use can at times ring hollow. Michael Weinstein "Portrait of the Curator: Matthew Witkovsky" in New City wrote an informative albeit short introduction about Matthew Witkovsky, the new Chair of the Photography Department at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the changes he has in store for the department.

As a photographer who's practice relies on the relationship between text and image I'm biased when it comes to the oft complicated presentation of text and image. Specifically I'm interested in Matthew Witkovsky intention of educating the audience to the works of photography through the placement of text and image on the wall. This idea has been gaining traction in Chicago's photography community for some time as curators seek to deconstruct the white cube and by default change the relationship to photography and text. For the Art Institute of Chicago's Photography Department however it presents a bold new direction. Witkovsky's curatorial practice along with an all ready shifting focus found in assistant curator Katherine A. Bussard recent curatorial practices for "so the story goes" and "On the Scene: Kota Ezawa, Sarah Hobbs, Angela Strassheim" presents the foundation and direction for a decidedly smarter approach. One that will be interesting to see develop given the recent addition of 20,ooo square feet portion of the new Modern wing for the photography department.