{"id":33400,"date":"2019-10-04T03:57:24","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T10:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=33400"},"modified":"2019-10-02T15:41:40","modified_gmt":"2019-10-02T22:41:40","slug":"trees-bring-zack-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2019\/10\/04\/trees-bring-zack-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Trees bring Zack to life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Seelig is donating the proceeds from his exhibit Trees to the Zack Gallery. (photo by Olga Livshin)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Trees, Michael Seelig\u2019s new solo photography exhibit at the Zack Gallery, opened last week. It is a fundraiser for the gallery, which is located in the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.<\/p>\n

Such philanthropic initiatives \u201care of ultimate importance to the gallery and the community, as everybody wins when the gallery is well-supported,\u201d said Zack director Linda Lando. \u201cWe have approximately three benefits a year, and they come in different ways. Sometimes, they\u2019re initiated by the artist, sometimes by myself or another staff member of the JCC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seelig\u2019s decision to donate all the proceeds came from the heart, and it\u2019s not the first time. His previous show at the Zack, which was held five years ago, was also a benefit. \u201cThis is my way of contributing to the JCC,\u201d he said in an interview with the Independent<\/em>. \u201cWe have a longstanding connection to the centre. My wife was president of the JCC some time ago, and we\u2019ve given several donations to the community over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike his previous show, which focused on architectural images \u2013 Seelig was an architect before he retired \u2013 this show is all about trees. A cornucopia of greens dominates the gallery walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Linda asked me to do a show this year, I didn\u2019t have much in mind,\u201d he said. \u201cI started going through my photographs, selected the best 20, and then realized that eight of them were photos of trees. Looking back, I\u2019ve always photographed trees. Maybe I have an affinity for trees. So, I thought I\u2019d make it the theme of this entire show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
\u201cGarden Kyoto\u201d by Michael Seelig.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seelig has been drawn to trees and their unique charm for a long time. \u201cI think my love of trees comes from my childhood, when I was growing up in Israel,\u201d he said. \u201cJewish people are the only ones I know who have a holiday dedicated to trees: Tu b\u2019Shevat. During that holiday, we cherish trees, plant them, take care of them, so they can take care of us. That tradition probably influenced me from a young age to love trees and photograph them. I take photos of trees wherever I travel.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Zack exhibition, there are pictures of trees from Israel and Scotland, Canada and Japan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a book I read recently,\u201d Seelig said, \u201ccalled The Hidden Life of Trees<\/em>, by Peter Wohlleben. He is a German forester and writer and he knows trees. He says trees form communities. They communicate with each other and with us. It was a fascinating book, and I agree with the author; his book inspired me. Have you noticed that old stumps sprout new growth sometimes? That is because there are other trees around. Trees are life-givers; they create the air we breathe. Without trees, there would be no life on earth.\u2026 In Canada, and particularly in British Columbia, we often take trees for granted. Most of us do not pause to look at them and admire their beauty, solidity and permanence. We forget that, without trees, our planet cannot survive. This show pays homage to trees in many parts of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seelig\u2019s trees are all different; each one has its own shape and personality. Some are gnarled and twisted, while others stretch up in straight lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like it that they don\u2019t talk to me,\u201d he joked. \u201cTrees are my models, but they\u2019re more obedient than people when it comes to posing for a photo. I can take my time snapping pictures of trees. They are perfect photography objects. A tree just stands there. You can walk around it, see it from 360 degrees or from underneath. And every view is different. You can\u2019t do this with a person.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Seelig\u2019s photographs of trees, the show includes several watercolours, most of which he painted specifically for this exhibit. Only two small works are exceptions. \u201cWhen I was looking through my archives in preparation for this show, I found a small painting, created by my father in 1940. He painted a street in Haifa, and there is a tree in the image. The second painting is mine; I painted it in 2010, also in Haifa. Seventy years passed between these two paintings, but their colour schemes are surprisingly similar. And there are trees in both paintings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sizes of the images on display vary greatly. While Seelig\u2019s father\u2019s painting would fit in a school notebook, and most of the photographs are the perfect size for a family home, a huge triptych on canvas of one of his Kyoto garden photos would enliven a hotel foyer or a corporate conference room. \u201cI invited some designers to the show,\u201d Seelig said. \u201cMaybe one of them would like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seelig\u2019s approach to photography is consistently organic. He doesn\u2019t edit his photos with Photoshop, doesn\u2019t even crop them.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy pictures are exactly what I see,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd now you see them, too. There are other photographers who manipulate their photos with editing software, many of them wonderful artists, but I don\u2019t do that. I don\u2019t call myself an artist either, even though I use my creativity for many things in my life. I used artistic judgment for my work as an architect, before I retired. Now, I make greeting cards and wedding invitations with my photographs and my paintings. I illustrated a couple of children\u2019s books, written by my daughter and her husband. Even making dinner for our friends is a form of art for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Trees exhibit runs until Oct. 20.<\/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":"

Michael Seelig is donating the proceeds from his exhibit Trees to the Zack Gallery. (photo by Olga Livshin) Trees, Michael Seelig\u2019s new solo photography exhibit at the Zack Gallery, opened last week. It is a fundraiser for the gallery, which is located in the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. Such philanthropic initiatives \u201care of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[989],"tags":[2845,9349,6691,2763,2747,6706,40],"class_list":["post-33400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visual-arts","tag-environment","tag-michael-seelig","tag-painting","tag-philanthropy","tag-photography","tag-trees","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\/33400","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=33400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}