Dorian Greying - photo style

I saw the Robert Bergman show on thursday

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/12/AR2009101202981.html

It was one of those days when u feel...all wrong for some reason but u know the reason just isn't. Well, walking aimlessly around the city helps (not just any city, mind you;). And that, want it or not, brings you to Chlsea. And since u're there, u might as well pop in a gallery. And...u know it won't do any good - I mean, u're in no mood to appreciate art, if anything, other people's ups will only make u feel worse about your downs, but...well u're here and u might as well...and then u go in and u forget all about whatever u were feeling for no reason whatsoever and...go wow.
And it wasn't really all that wowish but it was wow enough to snap me out.
Some really interesting portraits, really good prints and little pieces of trivia you get when talking to gallery staff (I never did that before but I'm getting into the habit and...honestly, it would make the whole show worth while even if the pictures were not there:). So, here's what makes Mr Bergman special (besides for his work:):
All of the portraits being shown were made between 1986 and 1995. And then...it took 14 years for him to decide the work was ready for display! It was due partly to him wanting to have it perfect (prints, edit..I'm guessing) and partly to the fact that he thought, when displayed, the work should be displayed in the National gallery in Washington. So...after 14 years, that's what happened. When it opened in the National Gallery, the same (only slightly smaller) exhibit opened in New York's PS1 and then an even smaller one in Yossi Milo gallery in Chelsea (which is the one I saw). Well, cudos to being patient!


But, one thing that struck me the most, and which s actually what I set out to write about (way to get sidetracked..again:) is that I was looking through the book of said portraits A Kind of Rapture, published in 1998 and one portrait struck me as looking quite different than the one exhibited - even though it was the same portrait. Then I opened the PS1 catalog and,sure enough, the difference was very apparent there too: it was the same portrait but the man in the 1998 looked a good couple of years younger than the one in the 2009 catalog or the one on the (2009) wall. Due to difference in printing, the book "version" had smoother, pinkish skin while the newer print emphasized the roughness, the grey facial hair (invisible in the first one!) and the desaturated style made the man altogether aged by quite a bit.

It was just funny to see that, even though the photograph sets out to freeze time, to make a moment last forever, this subject found a way to grow older together with the rest of the world. Intentional or not, Mr Bergman, how very Oscar Wildish of you!
I thought it quite amusing, it made my day!

And then I proceeded to have coffee at my favorite city coffee shop Grumpy (those in New York, I highly recommend it: 20th street b/w 7th and 8th) and, on my way home,stumbled upon a small movie theater (E 12th street) with an "alternative" movie program at the cheapest price I've seen here and there I stayed to see a Chilean movie "the Maid" which was so lifelike and (I'm gonna be very politically incorrect, be warned) very European that loving it just came naturally and there was no need to question it.
Well, sidetracked again but, what I'm trying to say, no matter how it started, thursday was a great day. Thank you New York :)