Darkroom Laughs

As an artistic medium, photography excels at capturing the intensity of a moment in time. For instance, Lindsay Lohan's umpteenth nipple slip last week is now light suspended in gelatin, a moment of solemnity preserved for the ages. But the sentiment is not always so portentous. Uptown gallery Photographs Do Not Bend opens an exhibit this week celebrating humorous visual anecdotes captured on film. The 30 images include Elliott Erwitt's "Gambler, Las Vegas" from the 1960s (featuring a woman playing slots on a machine built to resemble a cowboy mannequin), Angus McBean's Depression-era sepia-toned and surreal self-portrait (capturing him flying in a washing tub with top hat and umbrella), Neal Slavin's 1974 "Society of Girners" (an oddball group of men and women pull crazy faces) and a Robert Doisneau photograph (in which a hapless man and his cello float in azure water). The images capture the frenzy and frolic of humor in a way that's pure entertainment. Humor runs Friday through April 29 at Photographs Do Not Bend, 3115 Routh St. with a reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 10. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Call 214-969-1852 or visit photographsdonotbend.com.
Fri., March 10, 6-8 p.m.; Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Starts: March 10. Continues through April 29