Power, Mark. Mark Power: Beauty & the Beast. October 4 - December 9, 1979.

Corcoran Gallery of Art. Essay by Jane Livingston. Photography at the Corcoran series. 1,500 copies printed. Fine with 5 letter code in pencil at bottom of title page. Stapled wraps, 12 page exhibition catalog. Includes six hand-tinted color photographs of home interiors, including two with a woman in bed, with list of previous exhibitions, articles, reviews, statements, and bibliography.  Summary:

Mark Power: Beauty & the Beast is an exhibition catalog published by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., to accompany a solo exhibition that ran from October 4 to December 9, 1979. Issued as part of the museum's influential Photography at the Corcoran series, the limited-edition publication documents a sophisticated body of color and black-and-white photographs by Mark Power, who at the time was a prominent artist and art professor at the Corcoran School of Art.

The catalog features a comprehensive critical introduction by Jane Livingston, the Corcoran’s renowned chief curator, alongside an exhibition history and selected bibliography.

Core Themes & Critical Framework

1. Conceptual Duality: "Beauty and the Beast"

The overarching narrative of the catalog explores the complex visual and thematic tension implied by its title. Power uses his camera to investigate contrasting elements within the American social and physical landscape, juxtaposing idealized, harmonious imagery ("Beauty") with raw, jarring, or unsettling contemporary realities ("the Beast"). This thematic friction challenges viewers to look beyond conventional aesthetic boundaries.

2. The Interplay of Color and Black-and-White

A distinguishing structural element of the publication is its inclusion of both color and monochrome photography. Rather than sticking to a single format, Power deliberately exploits the different psychological and documentary qualities of each medium. His black-and-white images often convey a classic, formal architectural rigor, while his color work captures the saturated, artificial tones of mid-to-late 20th-century American life.

3. Curatorial Context by Jane Livingston

Jane Livingston’s introductory essay provides the essential academic and artistic scaffolding for the exhibition. Her analysis places Power’s work within the broader evolution of late-1970s contemporary American photography. She notes his sharp, observational eye and emphasizes how his imagery avoids simple journalistic documentation, instead achieving a layered, metaphorical complexity that questions cultural myths and urban transformation.

As a key entry in the Photography at the Corcoran series—which documented landmark exhibitions by vanguard photographers like William Christenberry, Sally Mann, and Emmet Gowin—this publication solidifies Mark Power's contribution to the Washington, D.C., photographic boom. It remains a vital primary document of a period when institutional curators were actively expanding the definitions of fine art photography through focused, solo monographs.