Garry Winogrand's often quoted line, "There is nothing as mysterious as a fact clearly described," could be aptly applied to a new exhibition of photographs that opened yesterday at the Museum of Modern Art.

Barry Frydlender: Place and Time consists of ten photographs made in Israel during the last five years. They are remarkable on several counts, not least of which is their mammoth size and clarity. Dense with facts, these photographs were created using a hand-held digital camera.

Peter Galassi, Chief Curator of Photography says, "Barry Frydlender makes seamless digital composites from dozens, sometimes hundreds, of shots. He cultivates the quirks [inherent in the process] because they solicit patient study. It takes time for us to see that it took time for him to assemble the image."

Frydlender trains his eyes on all aspects of contemporary life in Israel. From hipsters on the prowl to Arab men playing cards in a cafe to a scene populated by armed militia at an historical site, he views the diverse populace - young, old, rich, poor, religious, secular, civilian, military - with equal interest. By showing momentary changes of mood and movement over a period of time, he is not creating a simple record of a moment's truth. Instead, these highly artificial images allude to a universal condition of life in that region, with strong and utterly unsentimental references to recent and Biblical history. Photo above by Barry Frydlender: Friday, 2002.

At almost fourteen feet in width, Blessing is the largest, and is also emblematic of what this first generation Israeli photographer has achieved in photography. Here, set against a pastoral background, a large group of Orthodox Jewish men and boys congregate before tables laden with food. At first, the apparently seamless photograph seems oddly otherworldly, but in a way that a quick glance doesn't reveal. After a while, the viewer begins to notice figures that appear more than once because they moved as the photographer worked. This recognition prompts a searching view of all the details that comprise the vast surface of this complex and compelling picture.

Frydlender's achievement comes out of a craft opportunity that is almost universally available to photographers today. The way in which he has combined this with a strong artistic point of view and an equally strong social concern results in something new in photography.

Barry Frydlender: Place and Time is on view at The Museum of Modern Art through September 3, 2007. On Fridays from 4:00 to 8:00, free admission is sponsored by Target.