My self generated project on U.S. politics which started in 1954  had slowly run out of steam by 1960..or maybe I had run out of steam. I decided not to go on the  road to shoot the political circus. It didn’t add up -  serious  national business turning into show business. I couldn’t stop cold turkey, so when I decided to watch the Nixon - Kennedy TV Debate I set up a tripod in front of my b/w television set and “documented”  the event.  What happened when I caught a  Camera 1 to Camera 3  crossover  was a surprise  graphically and for what it said about the political process.

My debate photographs became part of my “Still Movies”  project which was first exhibited at Art 45 in Montreal in the early 1980’s. This work has  been in many exhibitions and is now  in the permanent collection of Musee D’Art Contemporain de Montreal and the private collections of Jurg Schaub of Basle and Lawrence K. Grossman of New York.

I am preparing a list of existing prints which are for sale. Contact me in this regard at:  george.zimbel @ primus.ca

More important, watch the upcoming tv debates in  the U.S. and  Canada with the wise eyes  of someone who is seriously interested in the world.

george

Woman with reference cards 1960’s ©George S. Zimbel 1962/2008

Trying to reorganise my filing system, I found a negative of a woman with file cards…the pre-computer way to find books in a library. I scanned it and put it in a “special place” until I had time to print . Of course I couldn’t find it when I was ready to print. “Special places” are great for hiding stuff. I don’t give up and I don’t really loose negatives, so last week when it surfaced I headed for the darkroom and made a small edition (6) of 11/14″ prints. You can order one from me or any of my good dealers .  I won’t reprint it. I am satisfied that it is now exists .

If you look at Matt at MOMA 1960’s in my children’s section, you will see a boy looking up..the boy is still looking up. (Right in first row..right on.!) [Manteca photo ©Denise Grant 2007]
I received this email yesterday and want to share it. gz

“Greetings all,
Manteca’s Montreal concert will be broadcast on Nov 7 @ 8:00 PM on CBC Radio 2 on Canada Live. CBC.ca if you are out of the country. Hope you can tune in. It was a very exciting show.

Le spectacle du Manteca va etre sur CBC Radio 2 le 7 novembre @ 20:00 - c’est une show époustouflante.

Best

matt ”



I have been photographing seriously since I was 14 (not necessarily very well!). That’s 64 years, and because I make my own prints (a philosophical matter) I realise that I have outrun my capacity to print what I want to print. It has an extremely dampening effect on shooting new work. Do I need another negative? When will I print it ? Shall I make three?; Shall I make six? I will definitely not print the image again…etc.etc. Not to mention the dissapearance of SG bartya paper. The whole thing is paralyzing in terms of producing work. Of course I still see photographs every time I walk down the street , but they end up in my head archive, not my print archive.
I decided to fight the impasse [block?] by making a collage from tests that I had processed and saved over the years…I had a big box..enough for two, plus one for dear old Marilyn which I have not yet begun. I did the collage and when people ask me what it’s about, I refer to the title “It’s A Life. ” That’s it - a bunch of fragments glued together by a viewpoint. Will I rip up some prints to do more? I don’t think so, but it is tempting… gsz

If you would like to see “It’s a Life #1 or #2 for possible acquisition by your museum collection, contact me or one of my dealers for information and a readable scan.