ADORE NOIR • Black and White Photography • August 2014 • Full Issue by Chris Kovacs

CONTENTS WILLIAM ZUBACK

TIZIANA BEL 26 JASON HENTHORNE 45 BUILDER LEVY Appalachia USA By Timothy B. Anderson

AURELIJA PAKELTYTE 81 POLLO DIGHERO

DAN HAYON 108

BACKSTAGE CHRIS KOVACS Editor SANDRA DJAK KOVACS Executive Editor TIM ANDERSON Editor at Large LESLIE HILTS Editor at Large ELLEN KEITH Contributor

Publisher: Adore Noir Publishing Online: adorenoir.com Email: admin@adorenoir.com Adore Noir Magazine 1202 West Pender Street PO Box 17514 Vancouver, BC V6E 2S8 Adore Noir online magazine is published bimonthly. All images are ÂŠ copyright of their respective artists and may not be copied or distributed. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1925-5160

Editor’s Notes This issue is full of photographs that will find you reaching inside yourself and perhaps reconnecting with a truth that you may not want to face or a piece of yourself that might not want to be exposed. Under the right circumstances where honesty and trust were present, would you be willing to share your truths? Pollo Dighero earned the respect of the Gauchos of the Calchaqui Valleys and was only permitted to photograph them after his sixth trip. The resulting photos are a stunning portrait of an indigenous people whose authentic story continues to be told.

In Tiziana Bel’s sanatarium photos, the memories of what once was seeps out, daring us to keep looking for longer and to listen to what those empty rooms are telling us. Jason Henthorne is drawn to the tumultuous places where earth and water meet, his striking photos find the calm inside the storm. He says, “I enjoy taking those violent waves and weather and creating this calm ethereal piece of art work.”

Aurelija Pakeltyte’s series is an introspective one. Her personal portraits tell the story of her heart and ask us to join in appreciating the Builder Levy is interviewed by Tim Anderson, beauty that lives in the sometimes sadness of they talk about his Appalachia USA series, our lives. these photos showcase the honest conversation that is shared between Levy, the miners of So...Dim the lights, go to your favorite place, the Appalachia region and the land itself. The sit back, relax and enjoy! photos speak of struggle, of bravery and of strength. Sandra Djak Kovacs Dan Hayon tells us that his photos are set up to tell a story, “I use my…camera…as a notebook.” His photos weave us into a world of dark staircases, multiple doorways and a dead end. We can all identify with each of these in our own way. William Zuback tells us that he hopes his photos are “visually beautiful, yet hold a sense of mystery.” His subjects reach out to us asking to be known.

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ON THE COVER

WILLIAM ZUBACK 4

FEATURED

WILLIAM ZUBACK

“Whether I’m photographing dolls, inanimate objects, or people, the underlying narrative probes the identity of an individual, a group, a society or a family.” 9

BEAUTY THAT TRANSCENDS THE PHYSICAL Interview with William Zuback AN: Please introduce yourself. Where are you from? WZ: I am from the Midwest, USA, I was born and raised in West Allis, WI, a suburb of Milwaukee. My wife and I moved to Santa Barbara, CA in 1985 so I could pursue an education at Brooks Institute of Photography. Once I graduated, we returned to West Allis to, not only reunite with family, but to raise our own children. My photography has taken me in many directions over the years, one as

a commercial photographer, as a corporate photographer, as a fine art photographer. Also, I recently joined the ranks of adjunct professor, teaching at two local universities. AN: How did you get into photography? WZ: My uncle, William Brunn, who is sadly no longer with us, was an avid amateur photographer. Not only did he own a lot of camera equipment, but he also had a very elaborate darkroom set-up. I was about twelve

WILLIAM ZUBACK

years old when I became interested in the whole process, I eventually approached him and he was more than willing to teach me how to develop and print both black-and-white and color film––my love affair with photography was born.

WZ: For the past few years my work has explored the theme of identity. Whether I’m photographing dolls, inanimate objects, or people, the underlying narrative probes the identity of an individual, a group, a society or a family.

Other than my first job as a paperboy and a brief stint working in a print bindery, all other jobs have revolved around photography in some way, I guess you could say photography is in my blood.

In 2012, I created a series specifically titled Identity. My subjects were thirty-three individuals, male and female, clothed and nude. I chose this topic as a way to break down the societal stereotypes and labels put upon us. This was the first time I created a large body of work involving nudity––the

AN: Please tell us about your work.

WILLIAM ZUBACK

process had a profound personal impact on me. These sessions revealed a great deal of trust, respect and honesty between myself and the person sitting for the photograph. I also realized that, although my subjects were nude, people viewing the photographs were more often drawn to the face than to the nude body. I have continued to explore the idea of the nude portrait as a whole identity and not a nude body. I’ve tried to do this in a way that speaks to the beauty, strength, empowerment, and introspection of the individuals. I am constantly working to create and explore portraits and nudes in a way that won’t make the subject titillating, sexual or to objectify the sitter. AN: What do you think makes a memorable photograph?

WZ: A memorable photograph is one in which the photograph stands on its own merits, without the aid of any artist statement. If the viewer can be drawn into a photograph by its aesthetic qualities, and capture the viewer’s imagination, provoking thought or discussion, without being told the intent of the photographer, that to me, makes the photograph memorable. AN: How do you connect with your subject? WZ: There’s a lot of dialog and direction that takes place, both before and during the session. I often connect with my subjects through their verbal cues, body language, and gestures. These cues help create a set of portraits that are an expression of that individual. I tend to inject my own aesthetic by use of specific lighting,

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poses and spoken direction. By watching and listening to their cues, their arm gestures, their body language and their comments, I hope to create a collaboration that becomes a visual extension of their identity. I can’t say I’m always successful, but I have received some very positive feedback. It’s a continual learning process and I feel like I’m improving with every new session.

AN: What feelings would you like your viewers to take away with them? WZ: I write in my artist statement that I want the images to leave the viewer “visually satisfied but emotionally curious”. My goals are really two-fold, first I want to create portraits that tell a story and/or evoke an emotion for the viewer, second, I want to not

WILLIAM ZUBACK

only express the sitter’s beauty through the photograph, but help them feel empowered and confident in their own body; show them an introspective quality in themselves that they didn’t know existed. My photographs should be visually beautiful, yet hold a sense of mystery, they should speak to the viewer using the non-verbal vocabulary found in a photographer’s toolbox. AN: What do you enjoy besides photography? WZ: I enjoy being part of the greater local arts community, this group has helped me form some great friendships. I enjoy reading, spending time with family and going on long walks. Reading poetry and attending poetry readings have to be two of my favorite activities. In general, I enjoy life. I’m not one to sit around too long. I’m always in motion seeing, participating and reacting. AN: What is your final say? WZ: Now that I’m in the prime of my life and have thirty years of working experience behind me, I can honestly say, I’m in love with the process. The end result, although satisfying, does not excite me as much as the road I took to get there. I cherish the small rewards in my photographic journey, rewards that are personal and not often seen by the public. It’s not about the accolades, 14

it’s really about being in the moment and valuing the experience and the personal human connection. I’ve learned to slow down and enjoy these moments instead of constantly thinking about what is next. Painter and teacher, Robert Henri, says it best, “I am not interested in art as a means of making a living, but I am interested in art as a means of living a life. It is the most important of all studies, and all studies are tributary to it.” ♥ See more at: williamzubackphotographs.com

WILLIAM ZUBACK

FEATURED

TIZIANA BEL

“This sanatorium was built in 1898 in the southwest portion of Berlin, near the city of Potsdam. It was originally a tuberculosis sanatorium.” 26

LOST PLACES Interview with Tiziana Bel AN: Please introduce yourself. Where are you from? TB: Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m from Italy. I was born among the colors, sun and sea of Apulia in South Italy, I currently live and work in Bari. AN: How did you get into photography? TB: Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always loved art in all its forms, from painting to sculpture, and I needed to find my ideal means of expression. I found it ten years ago when I was given my first camera and I immediately understood that she would become my best friend. Photography became

an overwhelming passion, at first I started studying photographic technique by myself, then in 2011 I discovered the Museum of Photography in the Polytechnic of Bari, and from there I started attending workshops and courses with professional photographers, such as Olivo Barbieri, Giovanni Chiaramonte and Marco Signorini. After years of photographic experimentation, my research began to focus on the study of urban spaces in European cities, focusing on the architecture, the colors and the details that encompass the vision of urbanity.

TIZIANA BEL

AN: Please tell us about your project Lost Places-Beelitz Heistatten Sanatorium. TB: Lost Places was born during my travels to Berlin. I had already photographed the city several times, but deepening my research on Berlin I discovered the existence of many abandoned places that I wanted to explore. Beelitz Heilstatten Sanatorium is one of the places which impressed me. This sanatorium was built in 1898 in the southwest portion of Berlin, near the city of Potsdam, it was originally a tuberculosis sanatorium. The German Imperial Army

converted this massive complex into a military hospital during World War I. It just so happens that a young Corporal named Adolph Hitler was treated at this hospital in October of 1916 for a leg wound received from British shelling during the Battle of Somme. In 1945, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, the German nation was divided in two. At this point in history the USSR took control of the facility turning it into a Soviet military hospital. Even after the reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990 the Soviet Army remained in control of the hospital until 1995.

TIZIANA BEL

Following the Soviet withdrawal, attempts were made to privatize the complex, but they were not entirely successful. Some sections of the hospital remain in operation as a neurological rehabilitation center and as a center for research and care for victims of Parkinsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease. The remainder of the complex, including the surgery, the psychiatric ward, and a rifle range, was abandoned in 2000. As of 2007, none of the abandoned hospital buildings or the surrounding area was secured, giving the area the feel of a ghost town.

This fascinated me and, despite the cold of February, I decided to go and explore this amazing sanatorium in the company of my inseparable camera. AN: Tell us about a memorable experience while working on this project. TB: I arrived in Beelitz Heistatten on a very cold February morning, there was snow everywhere and it was freezing. The sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rays showered the entire area with golden light and I saw for the first time how gigantic this facility truly was. Everything around us looked

TIZIANA BEL

abandoned, decayed, and void of life. The buildings, for the most part, stand empty but the architecture from a bygone age has passed through history still intact. Because most of the buildings are locked and inaccessible, it takes a bit of creativity and ingenuity to find a way into this amazing site. This complex is a real urban explorer’s paradise with various buildings and structures to examine. As you wander the lonely halls it is hard not to imagine what has taken place in the very areas you are wandering, silent corridors, with a floor that squeaks, its a place that conjures up ghosts.

representation of real space in which there is something metaphysical that communicates to the viewer a strong sense of unease.

AN: What feelings would you like your viewers to take away with them?

TB: The advice I would give to a young photographer is to educate the eye because photography is a powerful means, but only if it’s accompanied by good observation skills. Nowadays with the advent of digital photography we tend to take photos in a much simpler way, sometimes haphazardly, often without looking carefully at what’s ahead.

TB: Quoting the great Italian painter Matteo Massagrande, he says, “I want to share feelings, places, memories, odors, colors, lived,” Lost Places is animated by the same spirit, photographing Beelitz Heilstatten, the breath of time seems to stand still, everything is suspended, motionless as if anything could happen. Walking along its vast and silent corridors it is natural to investigate the intimate relationship between the individual, identity, space and time. AN: What or who are your influences? TB: I truly love the urban landscape, my photographic research focuses on the metropolis, seen as a place of dialogue in which you are in search of the relationship between identity and urban space. For this reason, I am fascinated by the paintings of Edward Hopper and I’m influenced by their geometrical composition and by the usage of cool lights in his scenes, often deserted and plunged in silence. In these scenes I love the 30

Photographically, I’m influenced by the work of Robert Adams, Stephen Shore, Walker Evans and Italian photographers Gabriele Basilico, Luigi Ghirri and Guido Guidi. Lately I’ve been fascinated by the photography of German director Wim Wenders, and by his excellent depiction of suspended atmospheres of desolate places and urban settings. AN: What is your final say?

I think that photography is an exercise in observation, the camera is a simple instrument and the challenge is using it to create a combination of truth and beauty, which is usually called art. ♥ See more at: https://www.behance.net/ TizianaBel Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ TizianaBelPhotography

TIZIANA BEL

FEATURED

JASON HENTHORNE

“Of all the tropical places I have visited over the earth, I still think Florida has one of the richest consistent cloud collections every summer day.” 45

COASTAL FLORIDA Interview with Jason Henthorne AN: Please introduce yourself. Where are you from?

AN: Please tell us about your most recent release the Coastal Florida series.

H: My name is Jason Henthorne, but I am known has Henthorne or H for short. I am originally from the Midwest, but have called Florida my home base for the past twenty years.

H: Thanks for asking. I am very excited about the latest series I just released. It has been several years in the making. Although I have lived in Florida for twenty years, I think subconsciously, I have been reticent to pull the trigger on this project. I consider Florida to be an incredibly gorgeous coastal area, but in my opinion, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not target rich with foreground subjects. I prefer a strong element to lead the viewer into the rest of the vista that I am presenting in my images. All said, it took considerably more research than normal before I started out on this endeavor. The Coastal Florida series encompasses years of research

AN: How did you get into photography? H: My travels throughout the world inspired me to start sharing my passion which is the intersection of ocean and earth. I started shooting fifteen years ago and then went pro about five years ago.

JASON HENTHORNE

and about four months of shooting. I am very pleased with the end result. AN: What elements do you need to be present to make a great photograph? H: The majority of my works are long exposure waterscape images. I’m always looking for an anchor object or subject to bring the viewer “into” the finished piece. The other element I enjoy incorporating is great clouds. Of all the tropical places I have visited over the earth, I still think Florida has one of the richest consistent cloud collections every summer day. I wanted to incorporate the clouds and their movement in as many images as possible. Bottom line: clouds, water and some strong

negative element. AN: Your subject matter, as you say, tends to be this “intersection of ocean and earth”, why? H: My visualization is always out over the ocean. In executing my exposures, it seems I am always setting up on the narrow strip of land that is closest to the water. The fact that my captures almost always take place in this fashion is the primary reason I refer to my work as intersection of ocean and earth. In my travels, some of my favorite locations have always had an element of huge tidal movement. It seems with that tidal movement comes the great guessing game of where to locate the tripod. I always want to be as close

JASON HENTHORNE

to the lapping edge of the water as possible, and with that comes the inherent risk of many scrubbed exposures. Fortunately, with regards to Coastal Florida, the tides were much less of an issue. Still, at the end of the day, I am always drawn to the convergence of land and ocean. AN: What feelings would you like your viewers to take away with them? H: My primary objective when shooting is to provide the viewer with a tranquil vista they can get lost in day after day. More times than not, the live view of most of my subjects tend to have raw and volatile weather. Utilizing my long exposure technique, I like to “bend time”. I enjoy taking those violent waves and

weather and creating this calm ethereal piece of art work. AN: What or who are your influences? H: I am 100% self-taught. I see both positives and negatives about this fact. I tend to be influenced a little more by contemporary artists like Kenna, Hoflehner and Brandt. AN: How do you capture and process your images? H: My creative process starts well before the capture. I am envisioning the end product, so to speak, while I am sorting out the composition for the vista at hand. For me, it’s all about patience and timing––waiting

JASON HENTHORNE

for that quality light. That one hour in the morning and evening provides me with the most contrast and drama. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about watching the clouds, and starting the capture at just the right time to maximize the movement through the image. As for process in post-production, I strive to keep it minimalistic like the image. That is, a minimal amount of processing. My primary objective is simply to drive the viewer exactly where I want them to go. To me this objective is the same regardless of film or digital. I capture in RAW and then use Nik Silver Efex to bring about monochrome. AN: What are you most proud of in the past twelve months?

H: From a business standpoint, the fact that I have received representation from six galleries in the past year, (Palm Beach, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Boston and San Francisco) it has been a challenging, but rewarding endeavor. From an artistic standpoint, I was elated to get Coastal Florida out. There have been a lot of people who have asked for it over the last few years. Honestly, I was relieved to finish it. It always feels good when I finish a series and it goes to print. My guess is movie producers probably have a similar feeling when they wrap things up with a project. AN: Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s next? H: The next series that will be released is

JASON HENTHORNE

New Zealand and following that, Sri Lanka. Both were captured last year, and I will start to work on them in the next few months. I am not finished shooting New Zealand, so it’s safe to say this release will be Part 1. As for Sri Lanka, the subject matter is a small departure from my norm, keep a look out for it.

very best to become phenomenal at it. I see so many photographers that shoot so many different subjects. I am often confused about what their passion is. I am always reminded of a well known quote my father instilled in me, “jack of all trades and master of none is no way to be.” ♥

AN: What do you enjoy besides photography?

See more at: henthorne.com

H: Water, water and water! My photography centers around water, but my favorite past time involves my underwater passion, scuba diving. AN: What is your final say? H: My final say is simple: Pick the niche you are most passionate about and do your

JASON HENTHORNE

Appalachia USA by Builder Levy Interview by Timothy B. Anderson

’m a picture guy. The first time I pick up a book like Builder Levy’s Appalachia USA I look at all the pictures first. I don’t like anything to inform me about what an image might mean before I look at it. I want the image to become part of me. Next it is the

foreword and any other notes about the book itself, like those on the inside of the cover flap. With all that information at hand now, it’s time to read the captions. In Levy’s newest book, reading the captions is a book in and

Mt. Olive Baptist Church

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

of itself. It is a very unique experience when the captions carry almost as much weight as the images, especially when those images are displayed in brilliant black and white, spot varnished tri-tones, which aids greatly in reflecting the quality and intensity of the original prints. There is nothing wasted in Appalachia USA.

BL: The piercing melody and powerful words written by a miner’s wife (Florence Reece) and sung by Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie about the life and struggles of the coal miners of Harlan County (in the 1930s), were very emotional and stuck in my subconscious memory. It wasn’t till much later, when I was looking for a photography project that would allow me to see America outside New TA: In an article published in the New York York City where I was raised and had done Times Lens Blog, and written by David most of my photographing that I decided Gonzalez, you mention a recording you used to to visit, explore and photograph what I felt listen to, “Which side are you on?”, that talked was a significant yet little understood and about changing the world. What was it about often overlooked region of the United States, this record that inspired you? coalfield Appalachia.

William Marcum

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

TA: I understand that early in your artistic career you thought you might become a famous painter or sculptor. How did you find your way to photography?

the time, people in our nation were marching in the streets for civil rights at home and for peace in Vietnam. In communities throughout America, people were standing up for their humanity and dignity and struggling for BL: I did not think in terms of fame. I social justice. As an artist I needed to find was thinking in terms of creating art that a way to have a direct connection to these intertwined social and personal expressiveness. social realities. My explorations in paint and While I was studying art at Brooklyn College steel left me unsatisfied. My paintings and (including art history with Milton Brown, sculptures did not sufficiently express what painting with Ad Reinhardt, and photography was in my heart and mind, nor adequately with Walter Rosenblum) I thought of myself reflect the world outside. Making photographs as an abstract expressionist. I wanted to was different. With the camera I was able to paint like de Kooning, make metal welded immerse myself directly into real life itself. I sculpture like Chamberlain and combines could abstract, compose, and intensify aspects like Rauschenberg. Their work, so full of of often chaotic and fluid reality within the directed spontaneity, raw energy, sensuality, rectangle of my viewfinder. With the release of and gritty vitality spoke to me of real life. At the shutter, I could begin to physically create

For Miners and Mountains

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

a new consciousness, in and of the world. In the darkroom, I could further intensify and complete the process in the making of a photographic print. I have been inspired by the many great photographers who, for more than a century, had been creating work grounded in realism infused with an intense humanity, among them EugĂ¨ne Atget, Lewis Hine, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paul Strand, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Helen Levitt, W. Eugene Smith, Roy DeCarava, and Robert Frank. I have striven to be a part of and contributor to that continuum. In early 1955 my father took me to see the Family of Man exhibition at MOMA. The photographs (by many of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest photographers) left an indelible impression on

me. In August of that year, fourteen year old Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago, was abducted, lynched, and his body mutilated in Mississippi, for whistling at a white woman. I turned thirteen that September. In December of that year Rosa Parks, the black seamstress, who refused to give up her seat near the front of the bus to a white lady, sparked the thirteen month Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott in which Martin Luther King played a leadership role. TA: Much has been written and visually documented about the plight of the coal miner. The disease, the poverty, the violent deaths, the bent and broken human spirit and the rapid decline of the coal industry. What have you seen and experienced in your visits to coalfield

Red Robin Inn

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

Appalachia in the last forty-plus years that has served to fortify your belief in the enduring humanity of the miners, themselves. BL: My experience was a bit different from the stereotype that has been imprinted on the region (mostly by outside “experts”). Most people were receptive to me, opening their hearts and homes, sharing their stories, and allowing me into their lives. I have been inspired by an Appalachian heritage of independence seekers, amongst the earliest settlers escaping the British colonial rule, a strong tradition of abolitionism in the 19th century, and the heritage of a multiracial collective union struggle for a better life for miners, their families, and their communities. And, since the new millennium, local environmental activists are organizing to save the mountains, their communities and the

creeks and rivers in the hollows and valleys from destruction and pollution. One of the most well known struggles, “The Battle of Blair Mountain,” fought by more than 10,000 miners against coal company gunmen, and the sheriff of Logan County and his deputies, for the right to join the union and fight for a better life, almost a century ago, still lives as an inspiration in the collective memory of the people of the region, and also in mine. TA: Most of us have seen the Farm Security Administration pictures and those images by other photographers (Hine, Lange, Strand, Bresson, DeCarava, etc.) that depict the harshness of poverty, and the seeming invisibility of those who worked in the fields or in the mines, mostly for scraps of change that barely kept them fed. I see those same faces that were depicted from the early twentieth

Kermit, Mingo County, WV

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

century in the images of your contemporary book. Has much changed, or has much remained the same?

and intensifying in the 1990s, Appalachian coal companies made a concerted and largely successful effort to get rid of the union from many of the mines. The Upper Big Branch BL: Black Lung Disease has come back as Montcoal methane explosion killed 29 miners a problem. There was a recent ABC special on April 5th in 2010, (the worst mine disaster exposing the current problem. Companies flout in 40 years) and there have been numerous the regulations to keep dust down, to keep the other mine injuries and deaths before and mines properly ventilated, to repair equipment since. etc., to save a few bucks. Enforcement was weak, and fines low. There are far fewer union Because of the proliferation of large coal slurry mines and union miners today in Appalachia impoundments and coal slurry injections into than when I started photographing there forty- abandoned mines, and the many poisonous six years ago. The unions help enforce safe chemicals used, water pollution in recent years conditions in the mines. They can even stop is bad, if not worse. Since my Appalachia USA production if they deem conditions too unsafe was published I received the following email: to work. Beginning with Ronald Reagan,

Brushy Fork Impoundment, Marfork Coal Co

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

Greetings! I have received your book from Linda. The photographs are lovely. One of my favorites is the Red Robin Inn (my dad repairs music instruments, so I found this appealing) and of course, the photo of the preachers. I work for a small law firm, Thompson Barney, out of Charleston WV. For years, we operated in Williamson WV. In 2004, a lawsuit was filed against Massey Energy and Rawl Sales and Processing (Sprouse Creek), by the people of Rawl, Merrimac, and Sprigg for the contamination of their wells via slurry injection. The injection of the coal waste into the aquifers started in approx. 1977. The firm and the clients had a long hard fight,

and in 2011, the case settled. There are more specific details about the case online, if you are interested. The people of these “forgotten communities” - a name they gave themselves, are some of the strongest, most resilient people I’ve met. When I first met the community members in 2007, I knew that I wanted to work for their cause, and have ever since. These same communities fought for better working conditions on the eve of the Battle of Blair Mountain [in 1921-BL], fought for their rights during the union busting in the 1980s, fought for clean water for their families for decades and are fighting for their pensions, among other issues currently.

Preparing to Shoot the Coal

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

I was so happy to see your collection in book form. I have an arts background, and have personally always been wary of the potentially exploitative nature of portraiture and Walker Evans-esque documentary photography in Appalachia. It is evident that you handle the subject matter of your photographs with care and respect. Having seen plenty of filmmakers and photographers come through here in such a short time period, I’m glad to see someone who has really made a commitment to the area by returning year after year, and following up with community members you’ve worked with. The memorializing of this unique region over the past few decades is so important, especially with how increasingly homogenous the country seems to become. Thank you for your work, it’s beautiful. Melissa Today large areas of southern WV and the eastern KY mountains have had their mountaintops flattened by Mountain Top Removal (MTR).

taken in any of several decades, and yet they look the same today as they must have then. In the image Mount Olive Baptist Church (plate 8) there is nothing shown that tells us when the picture was made, it could have been 1916 or 1957 or 1999. Was that a primary purpose in the structure of the book and the project, to make the images timeless? BL: With Mount Olive Baptist Church I had been looking to photograph a Walker Evanslike white wooden church next to a coal mine tipple. Instead, during a trip from Williamson to Morgantown, I found the Mount Olive Baptist church adjacent to the Wheeling Steel Corporation preparation plant. The church, on Old Route 119, was run by and for AfricanAmerican coal miners and their families. The purpose of the book is to give a sense (perhaps my vision) of America through one of its little understood, often overlooked yet significant regions. Also, I wanted to give a sense of how I, as a social documentary, street, and artist photographer work.

Finally, I wanted to give back to the people (named and un-named) and the region, A number of mountain hollow communities who, by allowing me into their lives, have are gone, for example, the large coal camp of Stotesbury, Raleigh County, WV where I made so enriched mine. the photograph Oglesby Bedroom in 1982 was TA: I have seen semblances of the children down to about three houses by 2009 and is depicted in The Church Family (plate 20) probably completely gone by now. Similarly, shown by several other photographers. They the place where I made the photograph Coal could be any kids in any town in the 20s, 30s Camp no longer exists. or even the 60s, and yet there is always one boy or girl who has those defiant eyes, that The population has decreased due to many factors, water pollution has gotten worse since assertive stance of someone not of that place. the new millennium, underground employment He or she seems to dare you to photograph them. has decreased and many mountaintops have been obliterated. BL: I spent a while talking to the Church family sitting on the porch before setting up TA: Many of your images could have been 65

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

my cumbersome 5x7 Deardorf view camera to make the photograph. That hot, dusty summer day I invited Kelly Cueball Buchanan, one of the retired miners I had met and spent time talking with and photographing the day before, to ride with me as I went exploring the mountain hollow roads outside Matewan in Mingo County. He had been active in the 1968 wildcat strikes throughout the Appalachian coalfields to demand passage of a comprehensive national mine health and safety law in response to the methane gas explosion in Consolidated Coalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mannington number 9 mine explosion that killed 78 miners that year. Usually I travelled solo, but Kelly wanted to ride with me and I accepted his help. In this particular situation he helped me break the ice

with the Church family. How do you photograph an individual, and even more, a family group without a sense of self-consciousness among some, or all the participants? How do you have the background not interfere, distract, or detract from the subject, and at the same time add something that tells about the life of that family? How do the people relate to each other physically and emotionally? How can I make a portrait or group portrait so that the people appear to be living their lives rather than posing for the camera, the photographer, or a wider audience? How can I find unforgettable faces? How can I create a photograph of a group that has an internal unity and wholeness, and that will hold

The Church Family

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the interest and eye of the beholder? How can I negate the intrusion of me, the photographer, to achieve a feeling of the individual and/or group subject living their life/lives? How can I not negate a person’s humanity and dignity without being artificial, stilted, boring, romanticizing or glorifying? Can I create a portrait of an individual or a group with beauty, yet maintain humanity and realism? These have been some of my concerns when making a family group or individual portrait. In 1973 when I lived with Paul Strand in his Lower East Side NYC apartment for ten days, we talked about making portraits. Paul liked The Church Family, which I had made in 1970 and a few others I showed him. Strand’s Luzzara Family, Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother, and Lewis Hine’s Italian immigrant family group at Ellis Island are among my favorites for their aesthetic unity and enduring human qualities in a family portrait.

high quality low sulfur coal needed for steel making. We must find good paying jobs for workers in central Appalachia to replace MTR mining jobs, and perhaps retraining those workers for infrastructure construction jobs, the building of educational and cultural institutions, medical facilities, bridges water purification plants, etc. The long-range future for energy has to be solar, wind, and possibly nuclear. TA: In your interview with Gonzalez (mentioned at the front of this article), you said, “I feel like I’ve done something right.” Tell us about this.

BL: I feel like my Appalachian USA work is finished, and makes a unique statement and contribution. However, by no means do I think it is all inclusive, or covers everything, completely. I am proud of what TA: What do you see as the future of coal Vanity Fair said in its February 2014 review: mining? With the advent of mountaintop “Photographer Builder Levy’s Appalachia USA removal surface mining, where tons of coal (David R. Godine) does for today’s coal miners can be dragged off mountaintops in a single what Walker Evans did for sharecroppers and motion, do you feel that the industry’s days are tenant farmers in the Dust Bowl.” numbered? TA: Have you learned all there is to learn or, as BL: Appalachian MTR mining is destroying you say in the Lens Blog interview, “The more the water as well as mountain communities I get into these places, the more I learn there is and, of course, the irreplaceable mountains, more to learn.” the most bio diverse in North America. Patriot Coal Corp is phasing out MTR mining and BL: Yes, the latter. probably the other companies will do so if the regulations to protect the water are enforced. TA: You also mentioned in that article that you Underground mining will be around for a have received some good feedback from some while—how long, I do not know. Powerful of your subjects in the book. If you reconnect multinational energy corporations are still with any of them, as I know you hope to do, making millions and don’t yield profits easily. what would you say to them? Fracking for natural gas poisons the drinking water. Appalachian underground mining BL: Thank you. I want to send them a will be around because it is a good source of personally inscribed book. When I tried calling 67

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Nathan Coleman (boy in first grade on first day of school at Bartley Elementary School), the telephone was no longer in service. I have lost touch with Lucious Thompson (I had given him his photographs awhile back). I haven’t been able to find the family of Adrienne Moore, a ninth grader at West Side High school in Wyoming County. Thomas Allen, from Chattaroy, who had given me the names of Cecil Perkins and his good friend Toby Moore, is no longer there. I would like to find out who the Tipple man is and I would also like to be in touch with B. L., the Kneeling Miner, and the men exiting the mine in End of Shift, all the miners in the miner photos. TA: You close your book with several pictures depicting protests. What is the hope in the near future of any of these protests coming to fruition in a positive manner? Would it take the demise of the industry to save the workers, their families, and the surrounding environment?

our mining operations impact the communities in which we operate in significant ways,” he added that the agreement will reduce the company’s environmental footprint. TA: You’ve come a long way since your initial trip in 1968 to Appalachia in your 1966 VW convertible. What’s next for Builder Levy? BL: I want to continue work on my Developing Nations project, and I want to make a book of my extensive work in New York City that began in 1961 or 1962. I also want to get this Appalachia USA work out to the widest possible audience and what I have lined up so far is: Beginning in June 2015 it will open as an exhibition at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida, and from there it will travel to several museums within the state over the next couple of years.

Sir Elton John recently acquired several of my Appalachian photographs for his important BL: The EPA ruled against MTR but it is being collection of photographs. ♥ fought by the operators and state governments in the pockets of the operators. Patriot is one of See more at builderlevy.com the largest mountaintop removal operators in the region. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) 11/15/12 –by Vicki Smith: Bankrupt Patriot Coal Corp. agreed Thursday to become the first U.S. coal operator to phase out and eventually stop all large scale mountaintop removal mining in central Appalachia under an agreement reached with three environmental groups that sued over pollution from several West Virginia operations companies and state governments. The continuation or expansion of large scale surface mining is no longer in Patriot’s best long-term interests, President Ben Hatfield told the judge, “Patriot Coal recognizes that 68

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Coal Camp

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

Donna Muncy

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

Preparation Plant, Coal Silo, and Elementary School

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

Welch, McDowell Cty WV, 2006

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

Tipple Man

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

Osage Window, Scotts Run, Monongalia County, WV, 1970

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

Lula Shepherd

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Oglesby Bedroom, Stotesbury, Raleigh County, West Virginia, 1982

BUILDER LEVY / TIMOTHY B. ANDERSON

Mark Callum (Boy at Abandoned Tipple)

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Brenda Ward

FEATURED AURELIJA PAKELTYTE

“These portraits are of my close friends and the lives we share together, including the feelings, intimacies and atmospheres.” 81

SEVERE ROMANTICS Interview with Aurelija Pakeltyte AN: Please introduce yourself. Where are you from?

AN: How did you get into photography?

AP: I found my grandfather’s old film camera AP: My name is Aurelija Pakeltyte, I am and was intrigued. I began to experiment to originally from Vilnius, Lithuania. For the past find out what it could do, and what I could do five years I’ve been living between my home with it, I never stopped. Photography became country and the United Kingdom. I am a film my passion, it helped me express myself and photographer who is constantly working on allowed me to explore the world. various personal projects––I have recently started doing commissioned work as well. AN: Please tell us about the portraits we are The darkroom is a very important part of featuring here. my photography, I love the the red light, the atmosphere, the entire processes really. AP: Most of these portraits are from the series

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called Severe Romantics. I made this series in 2012 while I was an artist in residence at Canterbury Christ Church University.

AN: What or who are your influences?

The single landscape (pictured here) connects the portraits to the place they come from.

AN: How do you capture and process your images?

AN: How would you describe your style?

AP: I use a medium format Kiev camera and a 35mm mechanical Minolta. I use whatever natural or domestic light is available. I process the black-and-white film myself and whenever possible I also print the photographs in the darkroom.

AP: There is an endless list of music, films, photograhers and artists. I am also influenced by people, faces, nature, cities and interiors. This series is very personal, it covers break Among the names of my favourites are top ups, new relationships, a loss, big changes and living between two places. These portraits film directors, such as, Sharunas Bartas, Andrei are of my close friends and the lives we share Tarkovsky, Roy Andersson, Kira Muratova, together, including the feelings, intimacies and David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, Miranda July and many others. atmospheres.

AP: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to say. I know what intrigues me most while photographing and what result I am aiming for which is usually a gentle, emotional, mysterious piece of work.

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AN: Are you working on anything new? AP: Yes, I am working on several new series. One is called Night Drives and the others have no titles yet. AN: What is your final say?

AP: From my experience only hard and sincere work produces the best results––always put in all the effort you can. ♥ See more at: aurelijapakeltyte.com

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FEATURED POLLO DIGHERO

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I connect through respect. I never enter a place without asking for their permission, I never attend a place I was not invited to and I never leave a place without asking.â&#x20AC;?

GAUCHOS OF THE CALCHAQUI VALLEYS Interview with Pollo Dighero

AN: Please introduce yourself. Where are you from?

documentary German Television Network: ZDF: Vermächtniseines Walfängers and formed the image of the international version of it, PD: I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, entitled Blood Money, Testimony of the Whaler, on January 24th, 1970, where I still live. I´ve but despite that brief success, I was still feeling studied Art History at the Museum of Fine Arts lost. After a couple of years where I felt lost, and photojournalism at the Photo Club Buenos destiny took me to the Valles Calchaquiesat Aires. Searching for my path, I travelled for in the Province of Salta, at the North West of nine months throughout Asia and that’s how the country. It is one of the sacred valleys of my first contact with photography came along. the American continent, and where I finally discovered my place in the world. I am also a Postgraduate in Documentary Photography in the Argentina Association of AN: How did you get into photography? Photographers. In 2004, my photographs on the hunting of whales in the remote island of PD: I honestly don’t know. Looking back in Lamalera, Indonesia, promoted the chain’s time I can’t find a moment that defines my

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beginnings with photography. I know I started my career when I realized that I was happy holding a camera and enjoying the world through its lens.

traditions, which are gradually disappearing due to economic difficulties and the migration of young people to big cities in search of a better future.

How I got into photography? I guess I have to blame the Peter Pan syndromeâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;â&#x20AC;&#x201C; photography allows me to remain a child. To shoot my pictures I need to climb a tree, jump over puddles, throw myself to the floor, run, and play. On the other hand, it obliges me to have a deeper look, and ask myself questions.

The land is sterile, poor, enervating and has an oppressive sultriness in the summer and a biting frost in winter. The gauchos are respectful of their ancient customs and traditions through the Fortines Gauchos (the garrison houses of the gauchos). It is a project of at least five years duration. These people represent one of the last authentic Argentinian subcultures.

AN: Please tell us about your work with the Gauchos, and what inspired you to create this series. PD: My project aims to create a visual document of a culture and their long standing

In real life the peasant is a very serious individual. His mode of living, which compels him to earn his daily bread in the sweat of his brow, is occasionally relieved by an outburst

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of extravagant joviality, at times strongly resembling intoxication, this occurs at the gaucho festivals and celebrations. One day, Mario Choque, who is one of the valley’s most revered gauchos, told me: “We are the last indigenous people and there are fewer and fewer of us every time.” This is why I try to document the lifestyle before it disappears. AN: How do you connect with your subject? PD: It´s not easy, for example, it was after my sixth trip to the same place that some gauchos allowed me to take pictures of them. It’s a very closed and distrustful society, the gauchos are a tribal society, united by blood ties and loyalties that generate lifelong commitments.

I connect through respect. I never enter a place without asking for their permission, I never attend a place I was not invited to and I never leave a place without asking. That way I try to show them that despite my limitations as a photographer, I try to show the best of them. AN: What or who are your influences? PD: Jean Francoise Millet, the peasant painter. From the baroque period: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens, Velazquez and Murillo, Zurbarán––they are the prophets. South American painters of Gaucho ways, and the Argentinians: Florencio Molina Campos, Prilidiano Pueyrredón, Cándido López y Ángel Della Valle, from Uruguay Juan Manuel Blanes

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Pedro Figari, the Brazilian and León Palliére. When it comes to photography, it’s impossible not to admire Salgado. I also love the work of the Uruguayan, Luis Fabini The Horsemen of the Americas, Adam Jahiel The Last Cowboy, Constantine Manos A Greek Portfolio, Lu Nan The Four Seasons, and Larry Towell The Mennonites.

PD: The Uruguayan writer, Eduardo Galeano, once wrote: “I move two steps closer; it moves two steps further away. I walk another ten steps and the horizon runs ten steps further away. As much as I may walk, I’ll never reach it. So what’s the point of utopia? The point is this: to keep walking.” This is my philosophy, to keep walking. ♥

And of course there are the great masters: Abbas Attar, Carl De Keyzer, David Hurn, John Vink, Guy Le Querrec, Raghu Rai, Rene Burri, Steve McCurry, and the list goes on and on. AN: What is your final say?

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FEATURED

DAN HAYON

“I don’t take pictures, instead, I collect visual words.” 108

THE LABYRINTH Interview with Dan Hayon AN: Please introduce yourself. Where are you from?

AN: How did you get into photography?

DH: I never studied photography. I was just DH: I am from Romania and was born in 1947. taking pictures for my own pleasure, mostly I studied graphic arts at the Art Academy of portraits of my academy colleagues. I had a Bucharest. Russian Zorky camera with only one lens. One day, a movie director saw my black and

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white photos and invited me to be his set photographer for a movie he was making. I was to take pictures of people he might use as extras as well as record the position of the objects in case they wanted to continue shooting the scene later. In those days, experience didn’t count much because friendship was making the world go

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round. After the film was finished, a few actors wanted me to take their portraits. Later, they recommended me to their friends and so on. But I never became a proper photographer, I mean making a living out of it or having a gallery to represent me––and I still don’t. I have nothing against the idea, but life just didn’t want to be that way for me. Who knows, maybe it’s too late, maybe not.

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AN: Please tell us about your series The Labyrinth.

I use my ordinary compact camera that I always carry in my pocket as a notebook. I don’t take pictures, instead, I collect visual words. These pictures make no mistakes, they DH: The Labyrinth was born out of a need to are bad, both technically and artistically, but I express a feeling of frustration. It is a serial story about getting stuck and not knowing how don’t care. to get out. It is written with images instead of Today I have some seventy thousand “words“ words, I made it as a kind of self-therapy.

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to choose from. My stories are never really finished. Almost every time I “read” them again, I find one word, or an entire sentence that needs to be changed. And I don’t mind using the same raw photo in another series if it makes the story better. AN: What do you think makes a memorable photograph?

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DH: The touch of grace I suppose, it cannot be controlled, no matter how much you know about photography. Grace is God’s business; he sends an angel to take over your eye and pushes your finger for you. You may not even notice, but perhaps afterwards you or someone else will see it. It may happen often, it may happen once in a lifetime.

DAN HAYON

AN: How do you capture and process your images? DH: I don’t capture them, but they capture me. And I’m not trying to be a wise guy when I say that. I really feel like a medium. And as I don’t have a place in my flat for a darkroom, I use a laptop instead. I’m not a film purist or a Photoshop hater. Weather it’s analog or digital,

cheap or sophisticated, cameras are just tools. The true process takes place in my head and my eye is the final judge. AN: Do you have any projects currently in the works? DH: Yes. It’s a never-ending series that I call Waiting for Godot. I named it after the famous

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play by Samuel Beckett. I am waiting for Godot because I realized that I have to. But don’t you? Don’t we all? AN: What is your final say? DH: I’m afraid I’m in no position to give advice to a young photographer. But I can say one thing: if you think that a photographer

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or artist didn’t already do something before, you’re dead wrong, they did. ♥ See more at: http://hayon.typepad.fr

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