The Circle of Life

By Suzanne Révy

From the moment we are born, we begin to age. We barely control our movements as infants, then slowly, we roll over, crawl, stand and toddle. As we get steadier on our feet, we run, jump and stomp through childhood until puberty hits and then adulthood. We slow down in middle age, and the long painful process of aging sometimes brings us back to the beginning with a loss of control over our bodies and minds. All the while, we live, love and sometimes fight with our families. Five recently published, intimate photography books explore the bonds of family through birth, growth and aging. They are ”I need a kiss before they leave”  by Mathilde Helene Pettersen, “The Days are Long & The Years are Short” by Ashly Stohl, “Family Car Trouble” by Gus Powell, “Abendlied” by Birthe Piontek and “With Dad” by Stephen DiRado.

“I need a kiss before they leave” by Mathilde Helene Petersen, essay by Anna-Kaisa Rastenberger (Kehrer)

“I need a kiss before they leave” photography by Mathilde Helene Pettersen, (book photographed by Suzanne Révy)

Mathilde Helene Pettersen’s “I need a kiss before they leave” takes readers on a visceral journey of a new mother from birth to toddlerhood. Employing mobile phone cameras she deftly captures the quiet exhaustion after giving birth alongside the abundant miracle of breast-feeding as she navigates new territory in her role as mother. As the baby settles into its new life, the pictures create a rhythm between serene private moments of connection and the outdoor explorations of a toddler’s wonder. There is a haunting, mysterious and painterly quality to the pictures which give this lovely book a timeless sense of the transitory physical bonds of early motherhood.

“The Days are Long, The Years are Short” by Ashly Stohl, forward by Lynn Melnick. (Peanut Press Books)

“The Days are Long, The Years are Short” photography by Ashly Stohl. (Book photographed by Suzanne Révy)

In contrast, Ashly Stohl’s “Days and Years” takes a more objective photographic approach, using black and white film to document the in-between moments of her three adolescent children. Through a masterful sequence in this beautifully printed book, readers will relish the meals, fights, vacations and boredom of the everyday.  Employing a wide angle lens, Stohl allows the spaces her children inhabit to function as a character in the book. The large swan floating in the pool, the rumpled sheets of a hotel bed, even the gas station by the train tracks create a tension between the togetherness of, say, the family on a road trip or just hanging at home, and the inherent sense that each will eventually follow their own path.  By documenting the mundane, Stohl endows her pictures with the poignant knowledge that despite the seemingly endless nature of each each day, her children, like all children, will grow too quickly. 

“Family Car Trouble” by Gus Powell. (TBW Books)

“Family Car Trouble” photography by Gus Powell. (Book photographed by Suzanne Révy)

Gus Powell takes an irreverent approach to photographing his family by using an ancient family vehicle’s woes as a narrative thread through the day to day undertakings of young children and the slower functions of an aging parent. It opens with the beautifully lit face of his daughter in a dance of imagery with that of her grandfather. The reader might imagine what the elderly man looked like as a child, but then we encounter the almost thirty year-old Volvo being hoisted onto a tow truck for repairs in the harsh afternoon light— a distinct moment of inconvenience for any family. This simple journey is at once playful and plaintive as we witness the sad demise and ultimate death of the grandfather as two daughters flourish amid the daily struggle to keep the family – and the family car – functional. 

“Abendlied” by Birthe Piontek with text by Nich Hance McElroy. (Gnomic Books)

“Abendlied” photography by BIrthe Piontek. (Book photographed by Suzanne Révy)

The final two books address dementia in an aging parent of each photographer. The first is Birthe Piontek’s “Abendlied” or “Evening Song” which uses dreamy, surreal and staged imagery to evoke metaphor for the disconnections that inevitably occur with the burdens of dementia. In several portraits, some featuring two people, figures are cloaked or hidden in the fabrics of home, creating a potent symbol for disappearing. Still life images constructed of objects that might not ordinarily be found together speak to the confusion that comes with the loss of memory. Piontek’s use of soft northern light and a neutral color palette give this work a quiet solemnity. An accompanying text in the form of a letter reveals the hardships faced by both the photographer and her mother but it offers a hopeful note that this small book might bridge the past with the future by restoring forgotten bonds of love. 

“With Dad” by Stephen DiRado. (Davis Publications)

“With Dad” by Stephen DiRado. (Book photographed by Suzanne Révy)

Our final book, Stephen DiRado’s “With Dad,” is a love letter to his late father. Employing an 8”x10” view camera and black and white film, DiRado began to photograph his father in an effort to understand his alarming symptoms before his diagnosis of Alzheimers Disease. Presented chronologically over two decades, the book leads readers through his father’s painful decline, from depicting the small changes made at home to accommodate his forgetfulness to the move into and time spent at a nursing home. DiRado includes himself in several images; in one, he gently strokes his father’s cheek, and writes that he made the pictures to hold onto his father. The extraordinary detail in these large format images along with the subtle use of light infuse the pictures with a profound sense of sadness and melancholy. The wrenching and tragically slow loss is as deep as the immersive love DiRado clearly feels for his father. He closes the book with several portraits of his still vibrant mother who continues to reside in DiRado’s childhood home after the loss of her husband in 2009. 

(Featured Image) “With Dad” by Stephen DiRado, “The Days are Long, the Years are Short” by Ashly Stohl, “Abendlied” by Birthe Piontek, “I need a kiss before they leave” by Mathilde Helene Pettersen, “Family Car Trouble” by Gus Powell. (Books photographed by Suzanne Révy)

Criticisms of photographers who explore their domestic sphere have been called indulgent, but at the end of the day, those making pictures close to home create a unique personal treatise that rarely becomes cliché in the way, say, sports or news photography can. As Tolstoy wrote, “All happy families are alike, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Perhaps there are no happy families, but each family functions in its own manner, allowing for endless expressive photographic possibilities. Witnessing the intimate familial bonds these photographers have so generously shared only serves to deepen our understanding and elevate our empathy for the human condition.

For more information:

I need a kiss before they leave
Photographs with text by Mathilde Helene Pettersen
Essay by Anna-Kasia Rastenburger
Kehrer
https://www.kehrerverlag.com/en/mathilde-pettersen-i-need-a-kiss-before-they-leave-978-3-86828-963-3

The Days are Long, The Years are Short
Photographs by Ashly Stohl
Forward by Lynn Melnick
Peanut Press Books
https://peanutpressbooks.com/collections/books/products/days-years

Family Car Trouble
Photographs by Gus Powell
TBW Books
https://www.tbwbooks.com/products/family-car-trouble

Abendlied
Photographs by Birthe Piontek
Text by Nich Hance McElroy
Gnomic Book
https://gnomicbook.com/Abendlied 

With Dad
Photographs and text by Stephen DiRado
Davis Publications
https://www.davisart.com/products/davis-select/davis-select-art-books/with-dad/

Tonight (2.27.2020)!

Stephen DiRado will be signing books after the screening of a documentary film on this project. Free and open to the public at Clark University in Worcester. 4:30pm. Details below:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156960555077919&set=a.384283112918&type=3&theater