Post on 19-Aug-2015
Gregory Colbert: The Man Behind The Lens
Colin Henning
Gregory Colbert himself swimming with blue whales. Untitled
My mother and her side of the family, in its entirety are Canadian. This
factoid makes my brother and I fifty percent Canadian. This little peak into my
personal life allows you to see the commonality I share with the Canadian
photographer Gregory Colbert. Colbert has spent much of his adult life traveling the
world and experimenting with the subjects and composition of his photography.
Actually, twelve years is how long he spent away on a total of thirty-three
expeditions to exotic locations in India, Egypt, Sri Lanka, and other neighboring
countries. The astounding vision of this
photographer sets him apart from
everybody else who holds a camera in
their hands because his photos bring
about feeling and wonderful emotion
from the animals that are just as exotic
as the places they inhabit.
Colbert is considered so influential partially because of the way that he
displays his art. Ashes and Snow is a three-part traveling exhibit, which Colbert sees
as purest art because he is attempting to make it accessible to all (Colbert, Gregory).
His photographs are displayed on large Japanese paper, untitled, and approximately
six by nine feet (Capuzzo, Mariangela). Accompanying these photos is a narrative
video, in which Colbert is also in, and a book of journal entries that includes photos
from his expeditions. In these large-scale photos there is no text explaining the
images, so each and every one of us can interact with our emotions and the beautiful
creatures that are looking right back at us with their natural beauty and vibrancy of
being in their own element. Since he expresses his art on three mediums it reaches
a wider demographic; it can touch everyone of all ages because we are all connected.
The animals in the photographs, the people involved in the images, and the
astounding beauty of mother nature are all wound together beautifully because we
all share a common thread, as we are all apart of this earth. It is transportable and
offers space where people can interact with each other because everyone can
connect themselves with the art and definite human interaction has a need to share
and talk about the beauty they are seeing.
Colbert’s universal ambition with his work is to celebrate life the world over,
whether it is animal or human. Now I am going to ask what Colbert asks with his
artwork, how many of these people are still connected to the natural world, even in
some little way? When people come to see Ashes and Snow exhibit, the emotion, and
experience that seems to charge over them is very common. What they are
experiencing Colbert says, “What they feel here are natural emotions about a way of
life or relationships with animals that have been lost to
most of us” (Christian Amodeo). When they perceive this
art, many are lamenting closeness to the natural world
that was once deeply held but now is lost due to the
urbanization and development of our world. The security
guards that work at the exhibit have even been renamed as consolers, because they
are there to comfort and talk to people when they need a friendly ear to listen or
shoulder to cry on.
The images themselves alone are so serene and beautiful in that nothing is
out of place. Shows the love and adoration for his work that he works with two of
the most difficult groups to work with, animals and children. “His ambition is to
dissolve the boundaries between man and other species, between art and nature,
between now and forever”(McGuigan, Cathleen). When humans do appear in his
photos, they have their eyes closed, as
to close to gap of power and feeling
between us and animals. My favorite
photo of the three shown here is the
one with the woman and the elephant
trunks. It is very moving and linear.
You cannot even see much of the elephant but you can still feel how serene the
animals are, and how the passion of the woman towards them is portrayed even
though her eyes are closed.
The objective of his photos with the detail of animals in their natural habitat,
and humans with their eyes closed is to bridge to gap between people and the real
natural earth we live in. Did you know that there are more than 19 cities in the
world with over 10 million people? Statistics on this matter change very rapidly, but
over half of the world’s 6.5 Billion people live in urbanized cities. (Human
Population). If so many of us live in over-populated, concrete mazes then it is very
reasonable to assume that we have evolved to adjust to our surroundings, and have
lost a little bit of our natural connection to our beautiful planet we call home.
Colbert’s work brings that natural emotion and instinct out of us, even if just for a
moment. Looking at his work can almost re-connect you with who you are. No
matter who you are. This is why his work has been regarded as powerful, moving,
and remarkable. It is the transformation of understanding that one goes through
when standing in front of the large-scale sepia photographs hanging on old-style
Japanese paper.
Keeping the animals in their natural habitats allowed Colbert to bring his art
to life while staying true to the voice, or soul feeling if you will, of each animal’s
voice. From this we can see differences in the way each of the animals evokes
emotions in us. Colbert has developed a charity with an emphasis in animal
conservation and art. I would encourage anyone who is interested to check it out
and give if they feel so inclined.
What drew me to Gregory Colbert is his interesting subject matter, and the
even more astonishing way he photographs and portrays his subjects. He chose to
use animals as well as children as his main subject matter, because he viewed the
specific animals he photographed as “nature’s living masterpieces” (Giovannini,
Joeseph). I firmly believe Gregory Colbert has left a positive impression in the lives
of many, and will be remembered for his compassion towards animals, and love for
opening the eyes of the world to some of our most precious resources; life itself.
(Note: Photos entered into paper are all from Ashes and Snow exhibit. Untitled)
Bibliography
Capuzzo, Mariangela. "Through The Elephant's Eye." Hispanic 19.5 (2006): 36-38. Ebscohost. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2010. G1
"Christian Amodeo in Conversation With: Gregory Colbert." Color Photograph Geo 77.9: 106. Ebscohost. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2010. G2
Colbert, Gregory. Ashes and Snow. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2010. http://www.ashesandsnow.org/en/home.php actual site
Giovannini, Joeseph. "At Home With Gregory Colbert." New York Times: 1. LexusNexus. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2010. G4
Human Population: Urbanization. Population Reference Bureau. Web. April.-May. 2010. http://www.prb.org/HumanPopulation/Urbanization
McGuigan, Cathleen. "Animal Magnetism." Smithsonian 36.3. Ebscohost. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2010. G3