They are ageless, the last surviving of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, three vast and tapering monuments of stone standing in the desert. For thousands of years they were the tallest buildings on Earth, and yet their function was at best symbolic: tombs designed to hold the lifeless kings of Egypt until they were finished being dead. A myth like that doesn’t come along every day. So it’s no wonder that the Pyramids been a favorite subject for photographers since the invention of the medium. The Weinstein’s exhibit gathers the Egyptological exposures of nearly three dozen artists, ranging from stark shots of the structures looming in the sand, to more playful takes on their ancient, immovable iconography. Our favorite is Alec Soth’s portrait of an old stogie-chewing man framed underneath the angled roof of his two-car garage, like an American pharaoh. Unless it’s Lee Friedlander’s shot of a pack of dogs lazing around on the sand,while behind them the Sphinx peeks over the horizon, as if checking out the animals next door.
Weinstein Gallery, 908 W. 46th St., (612) 822-1722.
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