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