{"id":23785,"date":"2017-04-07T03:34:31","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T10:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=23785"},"modified":"2017-04-04T17:13:37","modified_gmt":"2017-04-05T00:13:37","slug":"transforming-the-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/04\/07\/transforming-the-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"Transforming the landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

A photograph of Deadvlei in Namibia, by Judi Angel, is part of the exhibit Eye Lines, at Zack Gallery until April 30.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Five years ago at Zack Gallery, Judi Angel had a solo show of photographs from her time as a volunteer in Asia and Africa. Most of her work from that period was portraits of people she met during her travels. By contrast, her new solo exhibit, also the product of her travels, features no people \u2013 instead, her latest works transform landscapes into geometry, into lines, colours and shapes. The title of the new Zack show, Eye Lines, reflects the artist\u2019s new approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach photo in this show has a leading line,\u201d Angel said in an interview with the Jewish Independent.<\/em> \u201cThat line attracts the viewer\u2019s gaze, builds a narrative. It takes your imagination on a journey. You look at the image and you ask questions. Where are we? Where are we going? How do we get there? What is beyond the frame?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her fascination with lines started in recent years. \u201cI took a photography class on developing your own style,\u201d she said. \u201cI hadn\u2019t noticed how much I use lines in my images until I went back over my photos, thousands of them. Then the lines emerged as something important, so I decided to exploit that direction and enjoy what comes of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She doesn\u2019t consider herself a professional photographer, despite the artistic quality of her photos. \u201cPhotography is a serious hobby for me. I\u2019m not trying to make a living with it,\u201d she said. \u201cI want it to be fun and challenging. I\u2019m looking for new ways to express my vision of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo
Judi Angel (photo from Judi Angel)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Awhile ago, she began experimenting with her craft. Layering, double exposure, conceptual photography and a new medium for her images \u2013 sublimation printing on aluminum \u2013 are only some of the new things she has played with recently. But finding unusual images and original angles are still her primary goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive years ago, when my husband and I volunteered in impoverished countries, my photos were like a documentary. Now, I want to experiment more,\u201d she said. \u201cWe still travel, but the trips are shorter. We don\u2019t want to leave home for long periods of time; we have eight grandchildren. But we often travel specifically to places I want to photograph, like Africa \u2013 it is a visual feast for a photographer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, she and her husband traveled to Namibia. \u201cWe went there particularly for photography,\u201d she explained. A few photos in the exhibit come from one of the major Namibian tourist attractions, a ghost town, called Kolmanskop, in the Namib Desert. According to Angel, Kolmanskop was a mining town founded in the earlier 1900s by German settlers to mine diamonds. The miners built their town in their homeland\u2019s style.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt had all the amenities: a hospital, a casino, a school, even a ballroom,\u201d she said. \u201cUnfortunately, by the middle of the 20th century, the mine\u2019s diamond production petered out and the town was abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, only sand and tourists move among the empty buildings, and Angel\u2019s photographs demonstrate the power of both. The desert irrevocably reclaims its own, encroaching on the former human dwellings, creeping in through broken windows and open doors. The rippling sand dunes inside the houses look eerie, almost alien beneath the pastel-coloured walls.<\/p>\n

A different alien landscape meets the travelers outside, in the desert. Angel\u2019s photos of the desert reflect the stark contrast of blue sky and yellow sand. The colours are blinding. \u201cThere is a new railway there, in the desert, but the sand always moves. It covers the rails every day and has to be constantly cleared,\u201d she said. Her photograph of a sand dune a couple of metres high, piling across the straight line of rails, is awe-inspiring and achingly beautiful.<\/p>\n

Another unique desert photograph sports three colours instead of two. A grove of dead trees stretch their long-dry branches upward, adding dark brown to the blue-and-yellow combination of the desert. \u201cThe trees have been there for 600 years,\u201d said Angel. \u201cThe dryness of the desert preserves the wood from rotting and crumbling, so they just stand there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most other pictures in the exhibit reveal architectural elements, as seen through the artist\u2019s lens. Several of them are in the monochrome palette, while all the desert pictures use colour. \u201cI like colour, especially the warm yellows, reds and blues, but sometimes, black-and-white is the only option,\u201d she explained. \u201cIn my geometrical photos, black-and-white emphasize lines, while colours would be distracting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her architectural photos are not precise copies of real life but rather an enhanced fantasy, a capriccio on an urban theme. One of her favourite image-manipulation programs is Photoshop. \u201cSome photographers say that using Photoshop means cheating, but I don\u2019t think so,\u201d she said. \u201cPhotoshop is my tool, like paintbrushes for an artist. It has so many creative possibilities, and I experiment with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel\u2019s experimentations led her to join the Capture Photography Festival, and the current show at the Zack is part of the festival. Launched in 2013, this year\u2019s festival presents photography at more than 70 galleries and community spaces throughout Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like visiting their shows \u2013 so many outstanding artists,\u201d said Angel, noting, \u201cThey have judges to ensure that every participating photographer and every exhibition are on a decent level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eye Lines opened at the Zack on March 30 and will continue until April 30. To learn more about Angel\u2019s work, visit judiangel.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A photograph of Deadvlei in Namibia, by Judi Angel, is part of the exhibit Eye Lines, at Zack Gallery until April 30. Five years ago at Zack Gallery, Judi Angel had a solo show of photographs from her time as a volunteer in Asia and Africa. Most of her work from that period was portraits […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[6950,2747,40],"class_list":["post-23785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-judi-angel","tag-photography","tag-zack-gallery"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}