“First Light, Second Sight” presented by the “Evolution of Art” series by
Neshama Soulworks Studio, featuring the photography of Irving Spitzberg.
On display September 3 - October 4, 2011 at Beanetics Coffee Roasters
Join us on Sunday, September 11, 2011 from 2-4pm for an Artist’s Reception to share stories and see the photographic musings of photographer, Irving Spitzberg. Irving will be there with his wife, Virginia. I know you will enjoy talking with them as much as I did!
I had the honor of meeting upcoming exhibiting artist, Irving Spitzberg and his wife (and muse) Virginia at their beautiful home in Baltimore County. My first interactions with Irving were via email introductions and viewing his photography online; walking with him around his home I am surprised to find that his art work is not prominently exhibited throughout the house. There are of course stunning photographs of his wife Virginia. (Irving swears it is impossible to take a picture that does not highlight Virginia’s inner and outer beauty). But none of his photographs, including the ones featured in his upcoming exhibit, are framed and prominently displayed on the walls. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised as “First Light, Second Sight” is Irving’s first show (though the quality of his art might lead you to suspect he’s an old hand at the business).
Jennifer Judelsohn of Neshama Soulworks Studio, whose series “Evolution of Art” highlights the evolution of DC area (broadly defined) artists and their art, tells me that it took a lot of convincing to get Irving to agree to a show. And why is that? If you can believe it after taking a gander at his work, Irving never saw himself as an artist.
Irving has met numerous people throughout his rich life and works to maintain his relationship with each of them. Every year he sends out over 500 birthday cards to friends he’s adopted (into his family) over the years all around the world. He explains that this helps create and maintain a personal relationship. It certainly shows. Caught up in the excitement of preparing for his upcoming exhibit, Irving’s enthusiasm has spread to his friends all over the world. Apart from enthusiasm for Irving’s talents as a photographer and wishes for a successful show, the most common sentiment from Irving’s fans (commenting on the show’s event page) is for future exhibits accessible to people who cannot be in the area to attend the show, from Arkansas to his international fan base.
(Irving’s photography exhibited at his show and additional selected photographs can be
viewed online here)
Both Virginia and Jennifer saw Irving as an artist long before he did himself. When I ask Irving to think back to when his interest in photography took off, he tells me about his days attending Oxford as a graduate student. He frequently took photographs on his adventures and remembers paying attention to the composition of the image, but until 1999 the photographs were narrative. They had an aesthetic and emotional mark but the intent was always to chronicle events or places he’d been. Photographs were a method for telling a story in his reports to home or monthly reports on education he published for his job. Virginia points out that there is a marked difference in the way he has approached photography in the past 10 plus years. So what’s changed?
In 1998 Irving bought his first digital camera; this was the turning point between being the average camera wielder taking pictures to document his life to really thinking about the aesthetic value of the scene he was capturing. To Irving, photography is no longer simply about telling a story, where the aesthetic and emotional value of the picture is an outcome rather than the purpose. “Aesthetic has become much more integral to the process. Initially the purpose of my photography was to tell the story; it has evolved into understanding the aesthetic part of telling the story.”
It helps that digital photography allows the photographer to quickly take a number of pictures and immediately view the images. When the scene is right Irving snaps many images (easy to do with a digital camera) and goes through them to find the one that fits his aesthetic vision. As a result, “time is no longer as much of an enemy to photography.” And time is a real factor in Irving’s photography where much of the aesthetic of his photos comes from fleeting natural lighting hitting his subject in just the right manner, highlighting beauty of the subject. This brings our conversation to an explanation of the title of Irving’s upcoming show “First Light, Second Sight.”
First light. “What makes me decide to take the photo? The interaction between
light and the subject matter, be it Virginia, children, or nature -- the way the light
works.”
The vivid colors in his garden present many fantastic photographic opportunities. Irving is always ready with his camera to capture each beautiful moment when the light hits a subject in just the right way.
Second Sight. Many people these days (including myself) take the digital image from their camera and use a photo editor to enhance or completely modify the image originally captured. I’m interested to know if Irving edits his photos. The answer is both yes and no. He does not do much editing in terms of changing colors, because he does not want to change what nature presents. There is only one picture in Irving’s show that has been enhanced using a photo editor. He does “edit” the image when initially taking the photograph. When he sees a scene deserving of being the subject of a photograph he “edits” the overall space in which the photo will be taken. This “first cropping” is done while taking the picture using his intuitive aesthetic and emotional judgment. The “second sight” cropping comes when he reviews all of the photos of a subject and setting and then he crops to focus the photo to enhance its beauty.
Irving has no formal education in photography, which may surprise you after looking at his photos, but finds photography aesthetically creative and intellectually interesting. Irving lives surrounded by intrinsically gorgeous nature that allows him to create and share new beauty through photography.
Irving also uses photography as a medium to create, strengthen and enrich relationships. He takes photographs of people whom he visits or who come to visit, capturing something inside them.
The same day I visited Irving and Virginia I got an email from Irving with 9 photographs he took of our tour around his garden. During our interview he told me “taking pictures of people you really like creates a personal moment that endures through the photo.” In each picture of me with Virginia, Irving managed to intimately capture and highlight the emotion and expression in our faces using the light. Perhaps his next show will feature his photos of friends and their children.
Don’t miss Irving’s show at Beanetics Coffee Roasters in Annandale, VA.
I've seen the photographs; its a must see!
To inquire about purchasing artwork, contact
Jennifer Judelsohn at (703) 273-0485 or jennifer@soulworksstudio.com.
“The Evolution of Art” is presented by
Neshama Soulworks Studio.
Visit our website: www.soulworksstudio.com
Like us on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SoulworksStudio or by searching “SoulworksStudio”
As always, there's the usual extraordinary coffee and tasty treats!
7028 Columbia Pike
Annandale, VA 22003
(703) 941-4506
We look forward to seeing you at Irving's Reception!
Til Next Time,
Margaret
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