The Hole Presents 'Not a Photo' Exhibition Exploring Photography's Boundaries

The Hole gallery in New York hosted 'Not a Photo' from December 29, 2015 to January 17, 2016, featuring works that reference photography while defying traditional classification. Located at 312 Bowery between Bleecker and Houston Streets, the exhibition served as a conceptual counterpart to the gallery's earlier 'Not a Painting' show. Adam Parker Smith contributed Crush (2012), a canvas photograph with sewn hair animated by a fan. Susy Oliveira presented origami-like photographic sculptures, while Eric Yahnker displayed iFire (2015), a pencil drawing of a man using an iPhone lighter app. Ryder Ripps exhibited Ho portraits appropriated from Instagram and rendered in paint, and Mark Flood included a photomosaic spelling 'KEK'. Letha Wilson showed emulsion transfers on concrete slabs, engaging with artists like John Houck and Sam Moyer. Kate Steciw created triangular photo-sculptures hung from the ceiling, and Rachel de Joode and Kate Bonner also participated with works exploring digital manipulation. Matthew Stone presented digital facsimiles of paintings that challenge perception between physical and digital viewing. The exhibition highlighted artists using photography as a starting point while blending mediums, though some works were critiqued for lacking cohesive curatorial context.