The artificiality of the grotto image, obscured by the fence and red ribbon, kind of makes the whole show work. So in a way, the numbing you describe directly references image saturation in contemporary culture and begs us to question notions of what is real in photography.

This conversation, central in that image, is a thesis in his work. What, if anything, can be considered "real" through the lens?

If the images are numbing, it is because they are distillations of the all too familiar. In my opinion, the amount of work forces us to question the imagery and laugh at the strange intersections of what we consider real versus fake. Hyper-carefully edited over five years by a photographer and professor with 40+ years teaching history, the work is more than carefully chosen. It is selected to create a rhythm and force contemplation. If that rhythm is numbing, so be it. That's one response.

About the show, a casual viewer said "photographs of photographs, huh?" Well, yes. The exhibition is that and much more.

In my humble opinion, the work is the conversation happening in photography right now. It is about the rectangle and how you make sense of what goes in it. It is about representation. The images are intuitively found and the presentation is carefully planned and executed.

Through this exhibition, DiPerna continues to teach us about the nature of photography.