The new Monroe Gallery show is called Frozen In Time, which is the business we are in as photographers, no matter the temperature. But as painful as it can be to expose our fingers and cameras to the occasionally brutal ministrations of winter, those cold times of the calendar, and the resultant ice and snow make for truly memorable imagery. Hence the power of this show. A must see if you are in Santa Fe, and also important viewing online. Monroe’s archive of historically important imagery is so telling, and reverberates so deeply, that a perusal of their archives is basically a tour through our history.
Everything is harder to do in the cold, and so many of these images reflect the struggle of humankind to overcome the piercing blasts of deeply cold environments. In this show are the desperate attempts to fight off winter’s hold on the land, as well as the beautifully lyrical snow scenes of mountains, and the American West. And pictures of joy, as people enjoy the snow and ice, gliding and sliding and skating. But also seen are searing pictures from the front lines of war, as if war itself wasn’t enough utter misery.
I’m fortunate to be included in the show, with a hard won picture of the former president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. He was a pivotal figure in Russian history, presiding over the dissolution of the Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe, and guiding Russia, despite threats and opposition to a place of more openness to the West, and within its own politics. At once hailed and reviled, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, and became one of the most significant figures in history. At the same time, the reforms he tried to initiate earned him the enmity and disapproval of many Russians, particularly those in positions of power.
Hence the head shot in his office was insufficient in terms of storytelling. I wanted to bring him to the woods, where I could photograph him alone, in a stark environment indicating his isolation. It took some doing. I had to wrangle and push in the best persistent, annoying photographer mode I could. He wasn’t happy about it, but he came to the woods about three days after the office shoot, and stepped into the snow with his fancy shoes. He posed for about five minutes. And then, he shook my hand and spoke the only English word he said to me while we were together: “Goodbye.”
And he meant it.
More tk…
Very interesting story , from a real time, or a split of a second in life.
This portrait is brilliant Joe! What did Mr. Gorbachev think about it?
Stay warm!
?? Dana
0mg Joe!!! the sheer starkness (is that a word ?), the sheer black and white beauty ,not to mention the symbolism. Its a truly haunting shot.
Another great story Joe. Thanks for the reprise and congratulations on being included in the Monroe Gallery show.
That is an impressive feat in so many ways. An enigmatic photo. It appears you love a Herculean challenge!
Hi Dana…i never knew. It was the last communication we had was out there in the snow. All best
Hey Nancy…thanks for stopping by the blog! Hope all is well. Yep, starkness and isolation was my intent. I’m glad I met him. Formidable figure in history.
Thank you Martin! Happy and honored to be included.
It is probably a truism that I have tended to gravitate towards somewhat complex jobs. This was self assigned, actually.
Thank you Mark, as always….
Here stands a man in a snowy forest who came in from the Cold War. Now, he stands alone in the annuals of the Soviet Union as a peacemaker. and a pariah under Putin. Politic and peace conflict due to the competitive nature of each side. We’re in a hundred years cycle and our contentious nature is heating up. Joe, you captured an authentic hero and put him in a setting where he stood alone in a forest of many wolves.
Thank you Marco…I specifically went to Russia to meet Gorbachev. I had access via Time magazine, but no one put up any money and no one needed the photo. Time ran my pic as a head shot. Cropped it to a thumbnail headshot. But I went to do this, and happy I did. Probably the most extensive self assignment I’ve ever done.