"Twins in Tree, Snedens Landing, 1999," is part of "Adam's Dream: The Photographs of Rodney Smith," on display at the BYU Museum of Art from July 28 through Jan. 16.
PROVO — Photographer Rodney Smith believes the eye of the camera can see the world with more acuity and resolve than the human eye.
"It can penetrate deeper, it can see sharper, it can give you an insight, a depth that your own eye can't have."
To prove his theory, Smith has shot pictures in black and white that have a unique visual language and have bought him credibility in the world of commercial photography.
"My interest is not in what is new or fashionable," Smith said, "but rather what endures and is graceful, stylish and beautiful."
He searches for locations outside the studio that have distinctive architecture or landscape features that will properly frame his vision.
He balances design and spontaneity — much like the surrealist artist Rene Magritte — to make his contrived compositions appear natural and believable. They blur the line between reality and the imagination.
The timeless beauty and sly wit of his photography is a conscious counterbalance to the harsh and ugly contemporary media environment.
His images foster a sense of serenity and well-being, in contrast to the frenzied "realism" of much of modern fashion and advertising photography.
The exhibition going on display at Brigham Young University this month feature 69 black and white gelatin silver prints of work drawn from all phases of his career with an emphasis on his commercial work done during the 1990s.
Smith has shot for the New York Times Magazine, American Express, Merrill Lynch, Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue and The New York City Ballet.
He studied at Yale University under documentary photographer Walker Evans and remains committed to traditional photographic printing methods.
The title of the show is drawn from a passage written in 1817 in a letter by poet John Keats.
"The imagination may be compared to Adam's dream. He awoke and found it truth."
Smith's work seeks after the insight that dreams provide, essential truths that have been overlooked or denied by the conscious mind.
If you go
What: "Adam's Dream: The Photographs of Rodney Smith"
Where: Brigham Young University Museum of Art, Provo campus
When: July 28-Jan. 16, museum hours; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday, Thursday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday; noon-5 p.m. Saturday
How much: no cost
Phone: 422-1140
Web: www.rodneysmith.com
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