透过希望的镜头
Tri-C professor 丹尼尔·莱文 believes in the power of photography to make tough topics accessible
![A 丹尼尔·莱文 photograph of Amnon Weinstein in the luthier's workshop in Tel Aviv, Israel.](../images/violins-of-hope-pic.jpg)
当 丹尼尔·莱文 first entered luthier Amnon Weinstein’s workshop in Tel Aviv, Israel, his response was visceral. From the pungent scent of varnish to the piles of spruce and maple shavings, 房间里的一切都散发着一种明显的能量.
这种能量就是莱文, c学院的摄影教授, set out to capture in his 2015 series of photographs documenting Weinstein’s mission to rescue and restore violins played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust.
历史学家詹姆斯A. 格莱姆斯2014年出版的书, 希望的小提琴他将这个故事公之于众. 但是列文想知道更多.
“There was already a lot of information out there about the violins themselves,他说. “What I was interested in was, ‘Who is this guy, and what are his skills? 制琴师是做什么的? 他的工作室是什么样子的?’”
A grant from the Jewish Federation of Cleveland allowed him to find out.
“The Weinsteins’ Workshop: The Luthiers Who Restored the Violins of the Holocaust” is a series of 73 photographs taken by 莱文 during his visit to Tel Aviv. 这是“希望的小提琴”巡回展览的一部分, in which audiences can see the violins themselves as well as hear them played.
莱文, 在大屠杀中失去亲人的人, 能成为这个项目的一部分,我感到很幸运.
“I love that my photographs help make the story accessible to people of all ages and faiths,他说. “There’s such beauty in these instruments as objects, and it’s a victory that they’re being played.”
该系列包括韦恩斯坦清洁的照片, 修复和抛光仪器, as well as a few candid shots of the luthier outside of working hours — visiting his local flea market or meeting his wife, Assi, 吃午饭. Many are accompanied by descriptions that provide clarity and historical context.
“这绝对是一部纪录片,”莱文说. “这没有什么含糊不清的.”
从演播室到教室
The frank, uncomplicated style of “The Weinsteins’ Workshop” is 莱文’s signature. After earning a BFA in documentary photography from The Rochester Institute of Technology, he assisted established artists for a few years before “hanging his own shingle” as a commercial photographer.
Operating out of a studio in downtown Cleveland’s Artcraft building, 莱文 specialized in environmental portraiture — capturing a subject in their own surroundings. He spent much of his time traveling to photograph a wide range of people, 包括玛格丽特·撒切尔和乔治·H·罗斯福等公众人物.W. 布什.
After 9/11, though, the father of three decided to spend more time on the ground than in the air. 他于2002年加入trc, at the urging of fellow photographer Garie Waltzer — the woman who founded the College’s photography program in the 1970s and spent the next three decades building its curriculum.
莱文 is grateful to have landed in a place where diversity is the norm and, 最重要的是, 庆祝的地方.
“My classroom always has an amazing mix of people — a high school kid sitting next to a guy who’s just retired from working on the line at Ford, 在检察官旁边. 这些学生, 谁可能永远不会在街上打招呼, end up pushing and encouraging and challenging one another in this wonderful way.”
Students are encouraged to interpret assignments in their own way and to find unique approaches to convey beauty and meaning through their photographs.
“我告诉他们要避免陈词滥调,”莱文说. “一只蜜蜂在花上, two people walking into the sunset — pictures like that are sweet, 但它们已经没有意义了. 他们不会引起粗鲁的反应.”
艺术的发展
Not only does 莱文 challenge his students to grow as artists, 他也在自己的努力中追求成长和改变.
Since earning an MFA in visual art from Vermont College of Fine Arts several years ago, his interest in contemporary art — vastly different from the documentary style he was accustomed to — has grown.
“它更多的是关于想法和隐喻,”他说. “The intention behind it is to stir up conversation among viewers, even if it’s in their own head. 制作它是令人兴奋的.”
莱文’s latest project, “If Not Kindness,” is the largest-scale work of his career. 对压迫的时间扭曲观察, it comprises a series of tableaus built on-site and photographed in various locations throughout America. 它仍在制作中.
Currently, “The Weinsteins’ Workshop” is being exhibited in San Francisco. The exhibit will open in Los Angeles this spring and Sioux City, Iowa, in spring 2021. (2015年在克利夫兰上映,2019年在凤凰城上映.) He cherishes the opportunity to reach so many viewers and tell such an important story through his art.
“对摄影师来说,这是一个激动人心的时刻,”他说. “这个时候,这个时刻,是摄影的民主化. 它从来没有像今天这样受欢迎.”
2020年1月7日
Beth Cieslik, 216-987-4538 贝丝.cieslik@operationresults.com