By Megan Sullivan
Assistant Circulation Editor
Since the Nobel Prize is awarded across such diverse fields of study, the winners over the past two decades have had very little in common besides for the fact they have all been photographed by Peter Badge.
“Brain,” a new gallery in the El Segundo Museum of Art, features over 300 photographs of the living Nobel Peace Prize winners over the past two decades, shot and compiled by Peter Badge. Although many of the photographs look similar, the exhibit is creative, inspiring and extremely interactive.
Peter Badge was born in Hamburg, Germany and has worked as a photographer for most of his life. He works primarily with portraits and has met countless musicians, authors, actors and artists while creating his projects. He has also published a number of books that contain collections of his photographs.
Badge began working on taking photographs of the Nobel Laureates in 2000, when he was hired by museums, such as the Smithsonian, to compile photographs of a few of the winners. However, Badge wanted to capture the winners in a personal light and turned this into an involved project of all the living Nobel Laureates, which are now displayed in “Brain.”
All of the photographs, complementary to Badge’s style, are taken in black and white. Therefore, the exhibit lacks any color and diversity, which makes it mundane and repetitive. Although each photograph is of a different person, many of the angles are similar, which makes the majority of the photographs blend into one another.
Even though many of the photographs look similar, they are well composed. The contrast between the black and white creates a vivid visual effect. The photographs also bring the viewer’s attention directly to the faces of the people, which enhances the comfort and familiarity the viewer has with the pieces.
Badge wanted to show a side to the Nobel Prize Winners that most people were not aware of, which he succeeded in doing through the various faces his subjects made in their photographs. Some subjects held objects such as hamsters and other photographs, while others posed in front of cars and paintings. Through the clothes the subject wore, the faces they made, and the way in which they were photographed, viewers were able to better identify with the people in the pictures.
“Brain,” is extremely well organized due to the variety of books and other tools provided to help the reader understand each photograph. In the center of the exhibit, there are books of other works by Badge and iPads that the reader could use to look up who was in each photograph. This way, viewers could appreciate all of the contributions made by these people and could fully understand their importance to their fields of study.
The exhibit was also set up to be interactive for all ages that visited by containing an area where people could channel their own creativity. At the entrance to the exhibit, there was a blackboard where people responded to questions such as, “What would you like to explore?” and, “What do you think still needs to be invented?” There were already a plethora of answers for the viewer to read as well as space for them to contribute. This feature helps include the viewer and feel more involved in the exhibit. It allows them to think about the great accomplishments the Nobel Prize winners have made to the world.
The combination of Badge’s talent, the portrayal of individualism, and the ability the viewer gets to interact with the themes portrayed in this exhibit, all combat the similarities of the photographs and make “Brain,” a creative and inspiring exhibit. “Brain,” intends to motivate regular people to invent things by depicting those who are considered the most intelligent people in the world just like everyone else.
“Brain,” opened October 16th and will be at the El Segundo Museum of Art until February 12th of next year.
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