Gail Albert Halaban: Italian Views
I recently had opportunity to view the Gail Albert Halaban: Italian Views exhibit currently being held at the Aperture Gallery located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. It was an interesting exhibit which exhibited photographs by Gail Albert Halaban which were taken in Italy. The work focuses on photographs by “observing life through windows.” The artist has used varied Italian architecture to frame different moments in the everyday life of Italians as she views them through windows. The works were somewhat reminiscent to me of Hitchcock’s “Rear View Window.” As you view each photograph, it is if you are peeking into a personal moment in the lives of the people being photographed.
The photographs were large and were for the most part well framed. The subjects were focused and well lighted so that they stand out in the windows of the buildings. One photograph, “Necklace, Via Pietro Maestri,” that was well executed. I noticed that all the other windows have their shutters and windows closed. In the upper right hand corner, there is one open window showing an older couple. The woman is trying to put on a necklace and the man appears to be helping her. It made me wonder if they were preparing for an evening out or if perhaps, he had given her the necklace as a gift. Another photograph which was interesting was “Boy and His Dog” which shows a boy in a dining room. The outside of the window has large black shutters. I had to look closely to see the dog which the boy was feeding a treat. In this photograph, the windows on the left were also closed.
I enjoyed the exhibit and peering into the windows to determine the actual subject. It gave me a different perspective on how to frame my work. In my opinion, the works were well done and interesting. However, in some of the photographs I had to look closely to determine the actual subject. Perhaps, that was the intention of the artist.