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Sanat 03.05.2001 - netyorum.com / Sayı: 69
MERVE BERKMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION
"The drama of young people in their private moments, when
their faces reveal the most hidden parts of their inner worlds."
Merve Berkman - Photography
Exhibition
"The Drama of the Gifted Child"
May 3 May 29
Art Is Superior Gallery
13 Stanton Street, New York, NY 10002
Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Sunday 11.00 am 7:00 pm
You are cordially invited to attend the opening reception on
Thursday May 3rd, from 6:30- 8:30.
Taking its name from Alice Miller's seminal work on dealing with childhood
traumas, "The Drama of the Gifted Child" is a photographic foray into the inner
world of Merve Berkman and several of her
friends a hazy world of struggle, self-acceptance, and courage captured in a
series of portraits and still lifes. For Merve, photography is visual poetry a
tool for revealing her inner world to others through images in lieu of words.
Her portraits, shot in both black and white and color, are each
stanzas of a poem inspired by the arduous journey we embark on as
post-adolescents, coming to terms with our past, figuring out who we are, and
learning to accept ourselves before we move forward in life.
Conceptually Merve's exhibition at first seems simple: several young people are
photographed engaging in the quotidian rituals of everyday life or in personal
moments of angst and introspection.
A man is seated at a table, cigarette in hand, with his morning cup of coffee. A
young woman is slumped in a corner, playing with her hair and lost in thought.
At first glance the portraits appear
to be spontaneous the desired effect but they are not; the illusion of
spontaneity belies the carefully composed arrangements and complex emotions. The
subjects are actors in gelatin print
and represent a generation on the beginning of a path or a road. Projecting
palpable tension, raw emotion, struggle, and courage, Merve is trying to tell a
story that she believes everyone can
associate with the search for the true self. What she is trying to show, she
says, "is the drama of young people in their private moments, when their faces
reveal the most hidden parts of their
inner worlds."
Working with a 4x5 large format camera, which necessitates a "slowing down" in
the creative process, Merve says her approach to portrait photography forces her
to focus and concentrate on
the story she is trying to tell. About her style, she says, "What I am trying to
capture are fleeting moments a momentary expression, a tilt of the head
things that people do unawares, moments that reveal so much about a person. But
to be able to do this spontaneously I'd have to have my finger on the shutter
release in a second. Working with the large format makes this impossible, so
what I do is record these moments in my head and recreate them. The end result
is a composed photograph, but one that is still natural, and almost surreal."
Born in Istanbul in 1977, it was Merve's interest in poetry that led her to the
expressive use of the camera. Currently she is a student at the Pratt Institute
and "The Drama of the Gifted Child"
her debut solo exhibit, is also the subject of her senior thesis. She has
previously worked as a still photographer for the movie "Hersey Cok Guzel
Olacak" and as a photographer's assistant in
Istanbul and New York.
This exhibition is a part of MayFest 2001. To learn more about other May Fest
2001 events, please call 212 218 7665 (New York)
Support our festival, pass this e-mail around, and come to our events with
friends!
Moon and Stars Project
Highlighting Turkish Arts and Culture
http://www.moonandstarsproject.org
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