canonetc
canonetc
"Recent Histories" by Luc Delahaye, currently on exhibit through November 25th at the Getty Museum Los Angeles, is something a rangefinder enthusiast should see. Or, any photographer for that matter interested in art and/or photojournalism.
The prints are huge; some being 4'x8'. This gave me the feeling of seeing the scene exactly as Delahaye saw it. In the catalogue, they are described as "life-size", and they succeed very well in conveying a direct experience of the scene. People and events are no longer dime-sized or Internet-sized; no, they are within reach and tangible.
From the tsunami in Indonesia, to Gaza, Africa, former Soviet Union, Bosnia and Iraq, Delahaye enables us to examine, in our own time, images of current events that no longer remain as sound-bites in the media. Being in a museum, we are given time to view and study the images and allow a deeper effect to take place.
The images seem to be densely packed shots of meaning from events of great magnitude; Milosevic on trial, for example. We have heard of what the man has done, and now he sits (or sat) on trial, all alone. Will justice be served? He died of a heart attack, so, who can say....
The Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, where some journalists were killed by an American tank shell (he thought they were enemy snipers). A fire burning in the distance, the hotel surrounded by vehicles emblazoned with "TV", "MEDIA" and "PRESS". Almost a CNN version of the Green-Zone, but like the Green Zone, not a safe haven at all of the inhabitants. Even the last "e" in the word "Palestine" on the front of the hotel has fallen down from its moniker, and no one has bothered to fix it.
Okay, now some tech talk: apparently Delahaye used a Linhof 6x12 rangefinder or with a viewfinder. He scanned the film negatives, then in some instances created "composites"(as an artist, not a staff journalist), meaning he'd take one image and add a few aspects from other images of the same scene (he did this with the OPEC image). An interesting story he shares in the Audio Tour ($5.00 at the lobby kiosk and well worth it), is how he spent three months trying to "composite" an image from Bosnia, only to realize that his FIRST, unaltered shot was truly the best one. That says something about how much time we can lose in digital "fiddling" and the time we save in using film, and how we can look at the world from an analog-film perspective without digital influence. Of course, if he had a 6x12 digital camera, he might have used that too. But I hope not.
Other images seem to indicate he used a Mamiya 7 (or other 6x7 camera) and possibly a Hasselblad Xpan, unless he cropped them from the 6x12 negative. I say this because the detail within such photos is obviously different from the Linhof-shots, and not because of the chromogenic or digital-chromogenic printing (which is superb). One image of a burial in Darfur clearly looks 35mm in texture an grain structure, when compared to the Bosnia or OPEC image.
There is a stark poignancy to Delahaye's images; at first glance, some could look like postcards or snapshots. But on deeper inspection, the impact of what he witnessed comes through with great force. Each image has very subtle, almost easy-to-miss details that, once you find them in the photo, reveal not only the visual awareness of Delahaye as "an artist," but his long-standing skill as a seasoned photojournalist. Some images resemble landscape paintings, until you notice the skull rising from the mud, or the jagged gouge in the neck of the Taliban fighter who appears to be merely dozing in a dream. And even then, the landscape painting aspect arises again.....
I should note that Delahaye's exhibit is right next to a show of prints by Edward Weston. The contrast between the two "styles" of art is striking. In some ways, I felt that the Weston exhibit could be used as an "escape" from the direct realism of "Recent Histories". How easy to run away and hide in a Weston nude or a bell pepper; but if you try to hide, you will forget the lessons in History that Luc Delahaye has brought forward for us to learn from. Bell Peppers or Bosnia; why not choose both? On the other hand, you can see the works of two great photographers side by side.
Viewing the show has caused me to reflect on the "depth" of my own approach to photography. His work caused me to see (again) that there's much more to photography than composition or subject matter; we have to learn how to go beyond the obvious. Snapshots are fine, but do they mean anything? Fun goofy family pictures that we love are fine too; of course, not every image has to have "deep meaning". But looking at Delahaye's work just makes you think. Most of what is printed in the casual and professional media is simply...obvious. A momentary shock, a momentary awe, or a momentary titillation. But the images in Recent Histories do not permit that sort of casual, consumer attitude. Delahaye's images just cannot be gulped, chewed, swallowed and passed to make room for the next meal. He really means it when he says "Histories": each image is packed with meaning. If you're looking, that is...
And as I mentioned above, hearing Delahaye speak on the Audio Tour about the images was great and educational. It was good also to see many students from high schools and colleges being guided through the show with their teachers. The students had digital and film cameras. Didn't see any rangefinders, though....hmmm.....ah, well.
If you are in Los Angeles, go see the exhibit. Below is a link to the Getty, but remember that seeing it online is nothing at all like seeing a 4'x8' image up close.... and distinctly impersonal.
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/delahaye/
Chris
canonetc
The prints are huge; some being 4'x8'. This gave me the feeling of seeing the scene exactly as Delahaye saw it. In the catalogue, they are described as "life-size", and they succeed very well in conveying a direct experience of the scene. People and events are no longer dime-sized or Internet-sized; no, they are within reach and tangible.
From the tsunami in Indonesia, to Gaza, Africa, former Soviet Union, Bosnia and Iraq, Delahaye enables us to examine, in our own time, images of current events that no longer remain as sound-bites in the media. Being in a museum, we are given time to view and study the images and allow a deeper effect to take place.
The images seem to be densely packed shots of meaning from events of great magnitude; Milosevic on trial, for example. We have heard of what the man has done, and now he sits (or sat) on trial, all alone. Will justice be served? He died of a heart attack, so, who can say....
The Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, where some journalists were killed by an American tank shell (he thought they were enemy snipers). A fire burning in the distance, the hotel surrounded by vehicles emblazoned with "TV", "MEDIA" and "PRESS". Almost a CNN version of the Green-Zone, but like the Green Zone, not a safe haven at all of the inhabitants. Even the last "e" in the word "Palestine" on the front of the hotel has fallen down from its moniker, and no one has bothered to fix it.
Okay, now some tech talk: apparently Delahaye used a Linhof 6x12 rangefinder or with a viewfinder. He scanned the film negatives, then in some instances created "composites"(as an artist, not a staff journalist), meaning he'd take one image and add a few aspects from other images of the same scene (he did this with the OPEC image). An interesting story he shares in the Audio Tour ($5.00 at the lobby kiosk and well worth it), is how he spent three months trying to "composite" an image from Bosnia, only to realize that his FIRST, unaltered shot was truly the best one. That says something about how much time we can lose in digital "fiddling" and the time we save in using film, and how we can look at the world from an analog-film perspective without digital influence. Of course, if he had a 6x12 digital camera, he might have used that too. But I hope not.
Other images seem to indicate he used a Mamiya 7 (or other 6x7 camera) and possibly a Hasselblad Xpan, unless he cropped them from the 6x12 negative. I say this because the detail within such photos is obviously different from the Linhof-shots, and not because of the chromogenic or digital-chromogenic printing (which is superb). One image of a burial in Darfur clearly looks 35mm in texture an grain structure, when compared to the Bosnia or OPEC image.
There is a stark poignancy to Delahaye's images; at first glance, some could look like postcards or snapshots. But on deeper inspection, the impact of what he witnessed comes through with great force. Each image has very subtle, almost easy-to-miss details that, once you find them in the photo, reveal not only the visual awareness of Delahaye as "an artist," but his long-standing skill as a seasoned photojournalist. Some images resemble landscape paintings, until you notice the skull rising from the mud, or the jagged gouge in the neck of the Taliban fighter who appears to be merely dozing in a dream. And even then, the landscape painting aspect arises again.....
I should note that Delahaye's exhibit is right next to a show of prints by Edward Weston. The contrast between the two "styles" of art is striking. In some ways, I felt that the Weston exhibit could be used as an "escape" from the direct realism of "Recent Histories". How easy to run away and hide in a Weston nude or a bell pepper; but if you try to hide, you will forget the lessons in History that Luc Delahaye has brought forward for us to learn from. Bell Peppers or Bosnia; why not choose both? On the other hand, you can see the works of two great photographers side by side.
Viewing the show has caused me to reflect on the "depth" of my own approach to photography. His work caused me to see (again) that there's much more to photography than composition or subject matter; we have to learn how to go beyond the obvious. Snapshots are fine, but do they mean anything? Fun goofy family pictures that we love are fine too; of course, not every image has to have "deep meaning". But looking at Delahaye's work just makes you think. Most of what is printed in the casual and professional media is simply...obvious. A momentary shock, a momentary awe, or a momentary titillation. But the images in Recent Histories do not permit that sort of casual, consumer attitude. Delahaye's images just cannot be gulped, chewed, swallowed and passed to make room for the next meal. He really means it when he says "Histories": each image is packed with meaning. If you're looking, that is...
And as I mentioned above, hearing Delahaye speak on the Audio Tour about the images was great and educational. It was good also to see many students from high schools and colleges being guided through the show with their teachers. The students had digital and film cameras. Didn't see any rangefinders, though....hmmm.....ah, well.
If you are in Los Angeles, go see the exhibit. Below is a link to the Getty, but remember that seeing it online is nothing at all like seeing a 4'x8' image up close.... and distinctly impersonal.
http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/delahaye/
Chris
canonetc
S
Simon Larbalestier
Guest
This is a show i'd really like to see - a bit too far from Bangkok.... thanks for posting this and your thoughts on it. I am a great fan of both Weston and Luc Delahaye.