Zeke Berman was one of the photographers Libby mentioned on our first day in class. The string orchestration photos that she pulled up for us were intriguing, so I decided to go back and take a deeper look at his works. What I found was a curious intellect and a deep understanding of perception. Berman's photos play with perception and perspective in an almost obsessive and dizzying manner. Not only had he spent time setting up complex worlds compromised only of string, but he also takes simple things and makes the viewer consider them anew (like in the photo above).
Technically, his prints are lovely. Each image has a tonal range that really brings out the details in the subject matter, giving you enough information to illuminate the concept and leave hints at mysterious or half-recognized backgrounds. He plays with light... allowing it to caress his subjects (as in his 2005 image, Ferns) or to create expectancy and mystery (like in Fog Lamp, 2004). (both of which are located on his website...)
For the most part, his older work leaves me craving to see it in it's true form, instead of as pixels on a computer. It tends more towards the dramatic, drawing upon the subtleties and starkness available from black and white images. I get the feeling of intense exploration from these works, many have a certain roughness, a crudeness, to their setup due to weathered wood, or loose string ends, or the finger strokes left in paint or wet clay. From 1999-2002, his work starts to show greater delicacy, and less dramatic, stark contrast. It still exhibits a fascination with perspective and perception, but has a more gentle approach... many of these images almost seem to glow. But always, he shoots constructed worlds, making a fantasy of reality.
Unfortunately, I was unable to locate an artist statement of any sort, or find anywhere Berman's own opinion on his photos. I think they are imaginative to the point of obsession, and that sort of thing deeply appeals to my own obsessive exploratory tendencies.
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