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ACCIDENTAL MYSTERIES: EXTRAORDINARY VERNACULAR PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE COLLECTION OF JOHN AND TEENUH FOSTER
An exhibition of snapshot photography
January 13, 2006 - April 29, 2006

press release
images

Untitled snapshot
Anonymous
from the Collection of John & Teenuh Foster

Press release:
Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art will present the exhibition, “Accidental Mysteries: Extraordinary Vernacular Photographs from the Collection of John and Teenuh Foster , ”from January 13-April 29, 2006 at Intuit, 756 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago IL. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 5 pm and Thursday 11 am to 7:30 pm; admission is free. An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, January 13 from 5 pm to 8 pm at Intuit. Join John and Teenuh Foster on the morning of Saturday January 14 at 10 am for coffee and conversation.

The photos in this show consist of 65 enigmatic vintage snapshots from the John and Teenuh Foster collection of vernacular photography. Taken by anonymous amateurs, these snapshots have been discovered by the Fosters, who collect them from a variety of places such as antique shops, thrift stores, estate sales, and online auctions. Consisting of subject matter that ranges from pets to posed family portraits, many of the snapshots include accidental double exposures and other darkroom mistakes, which create unintentionally idiosyncratic compositions. The curious history behind the origins of these found images prompts speculation from the viewer, who is left to ponder the mysterious circumstances in which these photographs came to be.

Focusing on found snapshots celebrates the non-artist as creator. John Foster notes that the images have a “democratic way of revealing the world.” Examined outside family albums, wallets, or keepsake frames, these images can and often do take on new meanings that differ dramatically from those they were originally meant to convey.

Images:

Untitled snapshots, anonymous, from the Collection of John & Teenuh Foster