It is a rare and wonderful thing when gorgeous photography hits a cultural flashpoint and sends sparks flying. Arne Svenson’s series “The Neighbors” did just that in New York a few years back and now Bostonians can see what all the excitement is about at Ars Libri, Robert Klein’s satellite gallery in SoWa, through October 29, 2016.
“Neighbors #1, 2012” by Arne Svenson (courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).
Perhaps inadvertently, Arne Svenson detonated our ambiguity regarding privacy in the digital age when he turned a long lens on his neighbors who inhabit N.Y.C.’s Zinc Building. The neighbors were indignant, threatening or bringing lawsuits for their perceived breaches of privacy, a privacy they assumed was protected inside their own homes. But here’s the thing: Svenson respectfully avoided revealing their faces because he was after something else entirely – beautiful photographs.
“Neighbors #9 & #10, 2012” by Arne Svenson (courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).
Svenson’s “Neighbors” are indeed beautifully drawn, a triumph of artistry and feeling. In mindfully composed frames that integrate the building’s structural features, he discovers the linear confluences of bodies and clothing with the environs they inhabit. Reflections off the large plates of glass, day or night, flecks of light and dirt picked up by his telephoto lens and the splendid fabrics highlighted in each shot confer a lush, tactile sensation to his images.
“Neighbors #4, 2012” by Arne Svenson (courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).
But best of all, Svenson captures the essence of our human-ness. The off-hand, unconscious gestures of his neighbors possess both an intimacy and an anonymity that make them universal. He transforms the most mundane of postures – seen especially in the subset of images called “The Workers” which occupies a vitrine at the gallery – into graceful studies of form, figure and color. His spare compositions are nothing less than elegant. If I were one of Svenson’s “Neighbors”, I’d be feeling the love.
“Workers #9, 2014” by Arne Svenson (courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).
To read about the controversy surrounding Svenson’s “The Neighbors”, go to: https://whatwillyouremember.com/is-svenson-forgiven/
For hours, directions and more information about this show, go to: http://www.robertkleingallery.com/
Feature Image: “Neighbors #11, 2012” (Detail) by Arne Svenson (courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).
“Neighbors #8, 2012” by Arne Svenson (courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery, Boston).
Share On Facebook
Tweet It
