Mozart to Matisse | Art and Social Commentary: The Photo League at CMA
May 17, 2025
2:00–3:00 PM
Location: CMA
Join CMA curator Kaitlin Booher and members of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra for an afternoon of music and art.
Energized by pressing social issues, a group of photographers came together in the 1930s and formed the Photo League to provide compelling images to magazines and newspapers, exhibit their work, and share darkroom facilities. Dedicated to documenting everyday life and exploring the medium’s possibilities, the League shifted its focus during World War II as many members joined the armed forces. During the McCarthy era, the League faced accusations of communist leanings that ultimately led to its closure—an ironic twist, given their service to the country. Booher’s lecture on CMA’s upcoming installation on New York’s Photo League will consider how photographers and composers alike have long responded to the urgencies of their time. The talk will be followed by a live performance by Columbus Symphony musicians.
Tickets are $5 for members, $15 for nonmembers.
Kaitlin Booher, Ph.D., recently joined CMA as the William and Sarah Ross Soter Associate Curator of Photography. Booher most recently served as the Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Curatorial Fellow in the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art (2022–2025), where she worked on a wide range of photography exhibitions and collection installations. She was part of the curatorial team that organized MoMA’s 2024 exhibition Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue, for which she contributed a catalogue essay. Booher also held curatorial roles at the National Gallery of Art, Washington and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, and taught art history courses at Rutgers University.
Energized by pressing social issues, a group of photographers came together in the 1930s and formed the Photo League to provide compelling images to magazines and newspapers, exhibit their work, and share darkroom facilities. Dedicated to documenting everyday life and exploring the medium’s possibilities, the League shifted its focus during World War II as many members joined the armed forces. During the McCarthy era, the League faced accusations of communist leanings that ultimately led to its closure—an ironic twist, given their service to the country. Booher’s lecture on CMA’s upcoming installation on New York’s Photo League will consider how photographers and composers alike have long responded to the urgencies of their time. The talk will be followed by a live performance by Columbus Symphony musicians.
Tickets are $5 for members, $15 for nonmembers.
Kaitlin Booher, Ph.D., recently joined CMA as the William and Sarah Ross Soter Associate Curator of Photography. Booher most recently served as the Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Curatorial Fellow in the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art (2022–2025), where she worked on a wide range of photography exhibitions and collection installations. She was part of the curatorial team that organized MoMA’s 2024 exhibition Life Dances On: Robert Frank in Dialogue, for which she contributed a catalogue essay. Booher also held curatorial roles at the National Gallery of Art, Washington and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, and taught art history courses at Rutgers University.
