The documentary “Two Lives in Photography” showcases the love story reflected in the work of photographers and married couple Langdon and Maude Schuyler Clay. Directed by Oxford Film Festival veteran Thad Lee, the film focuses on the photography exhibit of the same name at the University of Mississippi Museum, curated by Melanie Munns Antonelli.
The exhibit features photographs taken by the couple over the span of decades, even as independent artists before their marriage.
The film, which was produced over the course of three years, opens with a gallery walk-through on Jan. 30, 2020.
The couple, on opposite sides of a hallway displaying their photos, recount the fascinating stories behind many of their photographs, as well as the logistics and artistic methods of capturing these fleeting moments.
This isn’t Lee’s first rodeo when it comes to filming artistic works and processes. In addition to making several films about exhibitions, his wife, Carlyle Wolfe Lee, is a painter and artist in her own right.
While excited to work with the Clays and create a celebratory piece for their own exhibition, Lee was reluctant to take on the project at first.
“I was not sure if I could give them what they wanted because my wife’s films have no sound other than music, and they really just document the making of the work,” Lee said. “Since Maude and Langdon’s work was already created and hanging on the walls, I wondered how I could present it in an interesting way and began being lured towards saying yes by the challenge.”
Any doubts changed when Lee went to a public walk-through of the exhibition. Each of the photographers led groups through the galleries, where Lee recalls “zigzagging back and forth” between them and listening to whatever stories they had about the photographs they were showing.
“I was mesmerized by the details and the works and knew that a film like that experience could work,” Lee said. “No talking heads, no sit down interviews, just the Clays leading the camera through the museum in a dance of sorts.”
The commentary accompanying every piece on film was completely organic — Lee didn’t feel the need to coax the stories out of the Clays or impart his own viewpoints.
“Their history is as interesting as the photographs, which is remarkable,” Lee said. “Hearing (the Clays) speak about what was going on in their lives and the world when something made them stop and decide ‘I need to take a photograph of that’ makes you realize that the taking of that image has become a part of them.”
Some of the stories behind the photographs are highly specific and intimate but also reflect an emotional simplicity.
The film is presented as a story of love: the love of photography, the love of the places in the photos and the love that the Clays have for each other. Lee describes their dynamic as a “beautiful symbiotic relationship.”
A subtle theme throughout the photographs and the film itself is opposition. Langdon and Maude may be opposites, both in terms of personal experience and artistic preference: Langdon is from the North and Maude is from the South, Maude likes to photograph people and Langdon likes to photograph objects/places.
Yet, despite their differences, they continue to complement each other so well.
“Two Lives in Photography” will screen Saturday, March 4, at 3 p.m. at the Malco Oxford Commons Cinema in Auditorium 3.
More information, including tickets, can be found on the Oxford Film Festival website.
