Public, Private, Secret

Public, Private, Secret is the premiere exhibition at the new ICP Museum, located at 250 Bowery (running from June 23, 2016 — January 8, 2017). Organized by Curator-in-Residence, Charlotte Cotton, with ICP Associate Curator Pauline Vermare and Assistant Curator Marina Chao, the debut show and events program explore the concept of privacy in today’s society and studies how contemporary self-identity is tied to public visibility. This thought-provoking exhibition presents a wide range of historical and contemporary works by artists including Zach Blas, Martine Syms, Natalie Bookchin, Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, and Andy Warhol. Streams of real-time images and videos from various social media sources—curated with Mark Ghuneim and ICP’s New Media Narratives students—sharpen and heighten attention towards the social implications of our image-centric world. ICP Curator-in-Residence Charlotte Cotton says, “Public, Private, Secret’s non-hierarchical organization allows for dialogue between and about the diversity of photographic and visual culture in a wholly unique and unexpected way.” The exhibition creates a physical experience through which to examine photography’s role in breaking and resetting the boundaries of social and personal privacy. The Public, Private, Secret exhibition website is an integral part of the show experience, home to interviews with artists and curators and essays related to the exhibition’s themes, as well as images of works in the exhibition, a schedule of upcoming events, transcripts of past events, and press. Additionally, Public, Private, Secret is complemented by a curated book experience, created by Spaces Corners.