Holly Wright, Final Portraits: Vivian and Bob Folkenflik (1983) (all images courtesy Fralin Museum of Art unless otherwise noted)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nCHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. \u2014 “Vanity” is one of those words that carries cultural baggage, from the Bible (“All is vanity”) to philosophy (according to Nietzsche, “Vanity is the fear of appearing original”) to literature (Ezra Pound’s “Rally”). Get off your vanity\u201d). In an exhibition of Holly Wright photography at the Fralin Art Museum, the word\u2019s meaning changes from \u201cvanity\u201d to \u201cvanity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holly Wright: “Vanity”<\/em> It begins with the eponymous photo series, 10 of which are close-ups of the artist’s hands from 1985-88. Are clapping photos in vain? Maybe, but without wall text nearby, it might be hard to tell exactly which part of the body you’re looking at. Wright uses various blurring effects to highlight creases, cracks, and folds, transforming them into fleshy abstractions. These can be somewhat disturbing. For example, an image of four fingernails that appear to be pressing into the skin might be interpreted as teeth. Two photos subtitled “Black Holes” show dark wells in the hand’s compact universe.<\/p>\n