A vintage photo exhibit

photogrAphy True to the Eyes: The Howard and Carole Tanenbaum Collection Jan. 23 to April 7, Ryerson Image Centre

Exploring Carole and Howard Tanenbaum’s vintage photographs can feel like snooping through your grandparents’ basement. The philanthropist couple has carefully curated a collection of thousands of shots as eclectic as it is intimate. Howard’s contribution, which includes daguerreotypes and prints from the 1840s to the 1910s, is a record of the early days of photography. For Carole, collecting was about community. She sought to promote up-and-coming photographers such as Rafael Goldchain and Edward Burtynsky, both just starting out in 1980s Toronto. Taken together, the Tanenbaum’s exhibit represents the two ways of looking at a photograph: as a piece of art and as a piece of history.

Edward Burtynsky, Shipyard #7, Qili Port, Zhejiang Province, China, 2005, digital chromogenic print.

Rafael Goldchain, A Tehuantepec Maiden, Juchitán, Oaxaca, México, 1986, chromogenic print.

William Notman, Ice Castle, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, circa 1855, albumen print.

Photographer unknown, Tourists in horsedrawn carriage at Niagara Falls, circa 1860, ambrotype in leather case.