MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS CELEBRATES THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF YOUSUF KARSH
By Chris Bergeron
Taunton Daily Gazette
Sep 26, 2008 @ 09:09 PM
USA
Self-portrait Yousuf Karsh, Canadian (born in Turkish Armenia),
1908�002 about 1962 Photograph, gelatin silver print *Lent by the
photographer estate *Photograph c Estate of Yousuf Karsh *Photograph
courtesy, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
BOSTON — When taking his world-famous portraits, Yousuf Karsh sought
to reveal his subject’s "hidden" character by capturing ephemeral
emotions concealed beneath the mask of celebrity.
Combining a courtly demeanor with darkroom brilliance, the Armenia
native photographed royalty and despots, starlets and artists
transforming their public faces into iconic images.
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Karsh’s birth, the Museum of
Fine Arts is exhibiting a broad sampling of memorable black-and-white
photographs that display his eye-catching artistry throughout the
arc of his career.
Pablo Picasso gazes with penetrating eyes past a vase bearing the
figure of an amply endowed nude. Regal yet reserved beneath her
crown, Princess Elizabeth stands at rest in her royal gown. Pale as a
corpse, a cadaverous Andy Warhol holds a paintbrush in his delicate,
hairy hands.
The just-opened exhibit, "Karsh 100: A Biography in Images," comprises
about 100 images including famous personalities and lesser-known
landscapes, experimental shots and photos of Canadian laborers and
landscapes that show another side of the artist.
Organized by curator Anne Havinga, the exhibit presents a balanced,
visually pleasing portrait of one of the 20th century’s great portrait
photographers.
The MFA’s Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh senior curator of photographs,
she attributed Karsh’s ability to freeze a subject’s character in
memorable images to "his uncanny ability to make people feel at ease."
Born in 1908 in the former Eastern Ottoman Empire, now present day
Turkey, Karsh achieved international recognition following decades of
diligent preparation. After relatives were killed during the Armenian
genocide, his family moved to Syria and Karsh was sent in 1924 to live
in Canada with an uncle who was a professional photographer. Impressed
by his nephew’s ability, his uncle sent Karsh to Boston to serve as
an apprentice with John Garo, an experienced photographer who became
his mentor.
Karsh’s best-known work, a portrait of a defiant Winston Churchill
that launched his career, resulted from a fortunate mix of the
photographer’s determination and instinctive professionalism, Havinga
said. Allowed only two minutes to photograph Churchill, who was
visiting Canada just weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she
said Karsh "respectfully" plucked a cigar from his lips, prompting
an expression of indomitable will that came to represent British
resistance.
Opening the exhibit, Estrellita Karsh said her late husband
photographed "people who mattered, people who left their mark on
the world."
"I hope this exhibit shows what kind of person Yousuf was. I think
it shows the intertwining of his personality and work because they
are one and the same thing," she said.
Shedding a different sort of light on Karsh’s personal and technical
approach, the exhibit also includes one of his large-format cameras,
preparatory studies for his portraits and a revealing transcript of
a conversation with Albert Einstein during a 1948 photo session that
clearly intended to put the great man into a pensive mood.
In a revealing back-and-forth, Karsh asked Einstein about possible
connections between music and mathematics, the likelihood of Russian
imperialism and whether he felt optimistic about the future during
the atomic age.
Throughout the mid-20th century, Havinga said, "Karsh’s name became
synonymous with the highest level of photographic portraiture and being
‘Karshed’ was an honor for sitters."
Visitors to the show will feel as if they’re viewing a cavalcade
of 20th century stars such as Audrey Hepburn, Ernest Hemingway,
Jacqueline Kennedy, Mother Theresa, Rudolf Nureyev, the Duchess of
Windsor, Harry Truman, Georgia O’Keeffe and Ronald Reagan.
Jerry Fielder, who served as a consultant for the show, praised Karsh
for his meticulous preparation for each photo session and expertise
editing his images. The curator and director of Karsh’s estate,
he explained the artist typically shot with a large-format camera
that used an 8-by-10-inch negative that captured his subjects in
remarkable detail.
Fielder said Karsh usually shot about 15 negatives for every two-hour
session. "Yousuf researched his subjects for talking points during
the session. And he had an extraordinary control of light. In the
dark room, he was the master of light and composition," he said.
But in the act of shooting, Karsh aimed to capture on film "the vision
of people he saw," said Fielder. "He was always looking for what was
natural in his subjects."
Karsh’s images became so ingrained in the popular mind that viewers
passing through the galleries may have the curious sensation of seeing
famous people who looked just like they thought they would.
Sitting beneath a horned elk skull, a black-clad Georgia O’Keeffe
resembles a monk meditating in an austere cell. Wearing a dark burnoose
and white hood, Ibn Abdul Aziz Faisal, who became king of Saudi Arabia,
appears to be lost in deep thought. Practically spilling out of her
gown, sexy Swedish starlet Anita Ekberg purses her lips and closes
her eyes in a seemingly private rapture.
Many of Karsh’s best-known portraits feature a subject whose features
are illuminated by studio lights set against a dark background.
Sometimes that format contributes to a posture or expression that
belies our expectations.
Shot in extreme close-up, Fidel Castro’s deep-eyed gaze exudes a
somber gravitas. Boris Karloff sits pensively, looking tired rather
than monstrous. Appearing atypically nervous in a strapless gown,
28-year-old Jacqueline Kennedy looks quizzically into the camera.
A viewer might reasonably wonder did Karsh actually "capture" his
subjects’ true characters or merely confirm public expectations of what
a statesman, Hollywood ingenue or tormented artist would look like?
In a memoir titled "Portfolio," Karsh wrote of photographing the
famous: "The endless fascination of these people for me lies in their
inward power."
"It is part of the elusive secret that hides in everyone and it has
been my life’s work to catch on film. The mask we present to others,
and too often to ourself, may lift only for a second – to reveal that
power in an unconscious gesture, a raised brow, a surprise response,
a moment of repose. This is the moment to record," Karsh said.
Estrellita Karsh expressed hopes the exhibit conveys her late husband’s
abiding affection for Boston as a place where he established his
signature style while living in difficult conditions.
"For Yousuf, it began in Boston. It happened in Boston. He called
Boston his spiritual home. He called this museum his university," she
said. "The man who lived in the YMCA now has works in the permanent
collection of the MFA. The wheel has turned full circle."
THE ESSENTIALS:
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is open seven days a week. Hours:
Saturday through Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; and Wednesday through
Friday, 10 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.; (Thursday and Friday after 5 p.m. only
the West Wing is open).
General admission (which includes two visits in a 10-day period) is
$17 for adults; $15 for seniors and students 18 and older. Admission
for students who are university members is free as is admission for
children under 17 during non-school hours.
The MFA is offering several courses, events and activities in
conjunction with this exhibit.
A 4-course session on "Photography: People, Places and Points of
View" will be offered Tuesdays, Nov. 11 and 18, Dec. 2 and 9, from
10:30 a.m. to noon in the Remis Auditorium. The course will also be
offered on Wednesdays, Nov. 13 and 19, and Thursdays, Dec. 4 and 11,
from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in the Riley Seminar Room. The course is $72 for
MFA members; $88 for non-members; for single sessions, MFA members,
$20 and non-members $25.
On Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m., Sally Mann will discuss her
award-winning photography in the Remis Auditorium. MFA members $18;
non-members, $22.
On Thursday, Oct. 16 at 11 a.m., curator Anne Havinga will discuss
the exhibit.
A series of nine movies, "Photography on Film," will begin Nov. 13
and run through Dec. 18. Call for details.
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