After 5: The Curious Collection

Viewing the exhibit “Accidental Mysteries,” a collection of photographs curated and presented by John and Teenuh Foster now on display at the Missouri State University Art & Design Gallery, gives proof to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words.

The show features vernacular photography – images by amateur or unknown photographers – and consists of pictures that the Fosters have found at flea markets, garage sales and other places where people are getting rid of things of lesser significance.

The collection is a fascinating body of work and has a more cohesive quality than one might imagine. It doesn’t come across as a random group of unrelated photos; it has a focus that is readily apparent.

John Foster is a St. Louis-based painter and designer and admits he is not a photographer. But he can think like one. He and his cohort have keen eyes and a sharp focus on what this collection is meant to achieve.

Foster says he may go through a thousand photos, and if he finds a dozen that are interesting, one of that bunch might be amazing and right for “Accidental Mysteries.” He has thousands of these photos in his private collection, but only the cream of the crop gets displayed.

“I look for those images that are not what your grandma would put in the family album,” Foster says. “I look for those pictures that are, um, that didn’t turn out quite right or that (are) odd.”

During a talk Foster gave at MSU on the show’s opening day, he had a slide presentation that gave credence to his vision. He admitted he is a habitual collector and loves finding objets d’art.

“Collectors are the driving force of new awakenings in this country, in terms of art,” he adds.

A couple seasoned Springfield photographers who have seen the works offered their opinions.

“In a time when our digital snapshots are one static charge or corrupted hard drive away from being toast, it is these little prints that may be the most enduring picture of casual life,” says Bob Linder, a Springfield News-Leader photographer, via e-mail. “They are a sometimes painfully honest landscape of our culture. The beauty is in the eyes of the two collectors who chose these photos. I can linger on each one for the longest time.”

Commercial and editorial photographer James Radke likens the Fosters’ work in this project to that of a museum curator.

“I think this collection of photographs subliminally acknowledges the Fosters’ favorite photographers through the choices of images that have been found in shoe boxes and bins in their flea market archaeological treasures hunts,” he says via e-mail.

Some of the pictures on display have been enlarged to great effect. One of Foster’s favorite images is of two young girls, one with a bare shoulder, the other eating a slice of watermelon. It’s an amazing composition, one that ranks with the work of any professional photographic artist. All I could do was stare.

The collection evokes so many emotions. When one considers that no photos were posed – they were merely brief instances in the lives of those involved – the imagination causes the viewer to make up stories as to what might have possibly gone on before and after the pictures were taken.