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October 30, 2009
Recording layers of meaning
Lorne Greenberg's photographs capture a deceptive simplicity.
OLGA LIVSHIN
Lorne Greenberg's solo photography exhibition, Visions of the Promised Land, opened at the Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery on Oct. 22. These stunning photos make it hard to believe that Greenberg hasn't been involved in the arts since childhood.
In fact, Greenberg started on this road in the spring of 1970, when he was 21-years-old. That year, his father died. Greenberg was going to enrol in law school that fall and didn't know what to do with his time during the summer. To cope with the grief and to pass the time, he bought his first camera.
"I fell in love then," he confessed. But love was not enough to set him on his present path. As planned, Greenberg started law school. He also joined a photography club, where he learned the basics of the craft. Later, after three years as a lawyer, he quit law and enrolled at the University of Arizona, this time majoring in photography. "It was easy for me to choose," he said. "There was no other way. As a photographer, I'm free. As a lawyer, I was never free. I like traveling and taking photos and now I can do both. I share my freedom with everyone through my photos."
When Greenberg talked about photography, his eyes lit up. "Law gave me a mental buzz; it was cerebral pleasure," he said. "I get cerebral pleasure from photography too, but I get so much more. First, I look for the right light, structure, coherence to the image. But then my brain disengages from the everyday stuff and goes somewhere, into esthetics, into some abstract place of beauty."
During the late 1980s and 1990s, Greenberg experimented with the technical possibilities of his medium. Then, his photos looked like collages, abstract compositions, with layers of meaning. He traveled extensively through Asia and Latin America, photographing paintings, murals and sculptures. He would often overlay those images with random street scenes as he explored ways to express his vision of the world. He exhibited widely and his photos ended up in collections throughout North America.
Since that time, Greenberg has moved towards simplicity. "It's not as random anymore," he said. "I'm just searching for a certain feeling and when I find it, I capture and frame it."
In 2006, Greenberg embarked on a new creative journey. He shot a series of stark, black and white photos of the Chassidic community in Uman, Ukraine. Photos from that series are on permanent display in the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. The visual language of these photographs is a departure from the complexity of his previous technique.
The current exhibition is, in a way, a continuation of his exploration of Jewish identity. In 2007, Greenberg traveled to Ethiopia, where many hundreds of Jews are still waiting to make aliyah.
The photographs in this series are full of color. "The subject matter in Uman demanded black and white," he admitted, "just like the subject matter in Ethiopia demanded color. Ethiopia was all about color and light."
All his photos from Ethiopia are portraits permeated with light. Most of his subjects look straight at the viewer. "I was very close to those people," he said. "This series is like a documentary."
The logical progression from Ethiopia was Israel, where Greenberg traveled next. It was his first visit since the 1970s. "I wanted to know what Ethiopian Jews would see when they land at Ben Gurion, so I walked around Israel with my camera."
His Israeli photographs hang side by side with their Ethiopian counterparts – a juxtaposition of destitution and hope. Together, they reflect a sharp contrast between the difficult, focused existence of Jews in Ethiopia and the contemporary, controversial plenty of Israel. The artist is true to himself: there are layers upon layers of meaning in these images, despite the illusion of simplicity.
Visions of the Promised Land is showing until Dec. 6.
Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She's available for contract work. Contact her at [email protected].
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