ED ECKSTEIN- COMING OF RAGE
1 June- 27 July 2007
OPENING RECEPTION
FRIDAY June 1st 6-9 PM
222gallery
222 Vine Street, Philadelphia PA 19106
open mon - fri 12-5, or by appointment
Not unlike the firehouse dog that jumps on the truck when the alarm sounds, I was drawn to document an era of discontent and divisiveness. Many of the pictures were done as self-assignments; some were commissions from a non-denominational magazine based in Philadelphia called Youth. Most of the time my only credentials were a Leica and a few rolls of Tri-X film.
Looking at the headlines of today it appears we have gone full circle; old events and world situations have now become current events. This seems best put in sobering context by the author John Halberstam who, in his description of the Vietnam War, wrote, "Time was on the side of the enemy, and we were in a position of not being able to win, not being able to get out...And so the war went on, tearing at this country; a sense of numbness seemed to replace an earlier anger. There was, Americans were finding, no light at the end of the tunnel, only greater darkness."
Work Statement: What my work attempts to do is the capture of the non-fiction photographic image, distilled from visual encounters with humanity and place. My quest for the image is akin to wandering through a flea market. I really don't know what I want or what is exactly it is that I am looking for. Then suddenly there it is, something in the shadow of a box of 78 rpms, something you must have, something you must capture.
Photographs: Images of dissent, civil rights and wrongs. Scenes from the 60's and 70's, East Berlin, the Klan, marches in Washington and Philadelphia, Jesus Freaks and Philadelphians for Rizzo.
Ed Eckstein is a "self-unemployed" photographer working worldwide for the corporate and non-profit sector, as well as editorial and advertising.
ABOUT 222gallery and odg / otto design group
odg is a design collective with offices in Los Angeles and Philadelphia specializing in identifying and directing new concepts in architecture, graphics and design. 222gallery is an exhibition space dedicated to expanding our traditional notions of fine art, communication, and function by presenting work that blurs the boundaries between art and everyday life. As a complement to odg's design studio, the gallery is an effort to further explore the cultural landscape in which we work.
