Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

I NEVER MET HELEN LEVITT, BUT I HAVE BEEN ON THE SAME PAGE AS HER, BOTH  PHILOSOPHICALLY AND IN BOOKS.

SHE KNEW THAT THE RICH STREETS OF NEW YORK WOULD KEEP HER BUSY FOR AS LONG AS SHE KEPT PHOTOGRAPHING, AND SHE KEPT PHOTOGRAPHING FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

SHE’S GONE, BUT SHE IS NOT GONE…THE LEGACY OF AN ARTIST.

george

Matt at MOMA  1960′s                                                                                                         ©George S. Zimbel

There are many ways to view photography these days.  I suppose that online is now the favorite, but the thrill of viewing an exceptional print of an exceptional photograph is still special.  Of course you can do it in a museum (Bravo museums!)  but that is a quiet  procedure often aided by the good docents who volunteer or sometimes only by  a headset with a voice that tries to tell you what you are seeing.

The AIPAD  Show  at NYC’s Park Avenue  Armory is  a chance to see extraordinary examples of the photographic art, and if you have not been wiped out by the neo-capitalists, you can even buy a print that touches your soul. I am not being poetic: Every day I see my print of   Marcel Bovis’s  “Paris Bar”  hanging on the wall in front of my computer and it gives me pleasure. Every day. My kids pitched in to buy it for me in the 80’s. That’s a lot of pleasure.

I don’t know which if any of my work will be on view because each dealer has a concept of what they want to show in a given year. They have the  pulse of the market and they have to sell to survive. These great galleries represent me and will be happy to greet you at AIPAD: Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto  (Steve is the President of AIPAD),  John Cleary Gallery, Houston,  A Gallery of Fine Photography, New Orleans,  Fahey Klein Gallery , Los Angeles,  Staley Wise Gallery, NYC

There are many events connected to this show and they will all be listed on Aipad’s website, but I particularly want to mention  the gala for the John Szarkowski Fund at MOMA  because  John instigated my first  MOMA acquisition  with the question:”Why aren’t you in our collection?”

Hope to see you there….george

P.S.  I  received word that  John Cleary Gallery will have my Marilyn Monroe Portfolio of 9 prints, boxed with text.(#5 0f  21 currently existing..printed and signed by me. This portfolio was created at the suggestion of the late John Cleary during my exhibition “Documents”  at the gallery in 2000.  They  will also have my print “Matt at MOMA 1968.”

This exhibition explores  the pre-post modern portrait photograph with an exciting collection  of  B&W  images introduced with an essay by Natasha  Christia, Kowasa

I  am happy to be represented by my photograph  Serious  Marilyn, NYC  1954

The last time I had the pleasure of sharing barbecue and talking photography with the late John Cleary, master gallerist,  he mentioned the famous radio personality, Paul Harvey who died yesterday.  It seems that the Cleary family and the Harvey family were neighbors during the depression. Mrs. Cleary told the Harvey family , they always would have a place at her table if they were hungry. (Often).

When Paul Harvey became a national  radio personality in the U.S. he would often come to Houston on business and would , without fail,  call Mrs. Cleary, and if possible,visit.   There is something good about this story and I just want to pass it on….george

      Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, but often  a well told story brings the reader nuances that could only be imagined when viewing a photograph. ( Is this a traitorous remark?  No  – it’s pro good literature, not anti good photography.)

Check out the following link:  http://www.elainezimbel.com/radio

Then  pick “Family Secrets” part one, and then “Family Secrets” part two.

I think you will find it compelling…..george

Presidential couples 1960/2009                                                           ©George S. Zimbel 2009

Here is some information I want to share.  These days there is never enough time to be a caring human being. There is never enough time to do what has to be done. Not to mention that there is never enough money to find the time.  Somebody said the immortal words: “Just do it.”,  so I am having a cup of tea and  Doing it. 
First I bring you writing by a woman of consequence with whom I have lived for 54 years.  : http://www.elainezimbel.com/a-woman-of-no-consequence-by-whose-measure

Then I want to refer you to an extraordinary exhibition here in Montreal  by the unrepentant photographer/artist Robert Walker : Mediascapes/February 6 to 28 at  McClure Gallery of the Visual Arts Centre, Westmount Quebec.

An finally  to another unrepentant artist who was born too soon to be a photographer,  Kees van Dongen (1877)  but knew the streets better than many of us veteran Photo Leaguers.  He used his paints and   charcoal to get  into  our heads. If you can possibly visit the  Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, check out the  Kees van Dongen  exhibition, the first major retrospective of the art of  van Dongen : Painting the City Fauve.  January 22 to April 19, 2009 .

It is always hard to realise that you are older than one of your idols.

John Updike’s New Yorker stories were part of my maturation (fancy term, but correct).  Now he is gone. I never did meet him, but was honored when  The New Yorker chose my Irish Dancehall,The Bronx 1954  to accompany  “The Walk with Elizanne” in the July 7, 2003 issue.

When I was invited to Washington in 1995 for the American Politicians Exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery (MOMA-Susan Kismaric Curator)  I used my time to hunt for new scenes for my  “Still Movies” project.  I have always believed that intuition is a big part of being a documentary photographer and that is why  I started shooting this bicycle messenger (?) and  professional looking woman who were chatting near the White house.  The last time I had been in Washington was to protest the Vietnam war in 1971.  It was a racially  challenged city  and I think that scene would not have  happened. When they kissed goodbye, I knew it couldn’t have happened.

I was  shooting with a 100mm lens so I was not far from my subjects and I never hide.  When she walked up to me and asked what I would do with those photographs I said “Probably put them in a museum.”   She said “Good” and walked on.  I thought about these two people  yesterday and smiled.

p.s. They are not yet in a museum.

george

Sometimes I have to see and feel  a print.  This one has been haunting me for years, but last week was the first time I printed it.  I made four copies of this image, and only one had “the magic.”  I ripped up the others. I am satisfied now; I won’t print others.

So, we have “I.D. Waynesburg College 1965 “  printed 14/11/09  by gsz.  1 copy. Reference #4125.

For  information on price, contact me or one of my fine dealers.