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TO FEB. 29
In his straightforward chronicle of Baghdad under U.S. occupation, Scott Wallace has internalized an evenhanded, respectful, no-frills approach to photojournalism. Wallace shows viewers little that is unexpected: journalists busily scribbling the comments of white-robed anti-U.S. clerics; youngsters playfully mugging for the camera; Iraqi citizens shouting in street protests; and lots and lots of steely-eyed, beige-clad American soldiers patrolling the streets, manning the barricades, relaxing in their barracks, and pining for their girlfriends. But Wallace—a Washington-based photographer who has worked for publications ranging from Newsweek and National Geographic to Sports Afield and Condé Nast Traveler—occasionally offers mild surprises, such as the young, lanky American sniper whose helmet is perched precariously on his head. He also possesses an eye for the absurd—a Saddam Hussein mural defaced by a yellow smiley-face design (pictured), or a Warhol-style cluster of six painted representations of Iraq’s fallen dictator—as well as flashes of real artistry, including two photographs taken from the back seat of a vehicle, capturing a disembodied gun and a glimpse of its owner’s face in the rear-view mirror. Wallace’s lone foray into subjectivity comes when he documents the arrests of Iraqis: His handwritten captions label the captives as “looters”—a characterization that seems a bit glib for a war zone. The show is on view from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, to Sunday, Feb. 29, at Banning + Low, 3730 Howard Ave., Kensington. Free. (301) 933-0700. (Louis Jacobson)