Recently profiled in INK magazine. issue.

January 2013
A guide to finer living in
Connecticut & abroad.
publications
Vol 9 Issue 1
2013
www.inkct.com
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Photographer Jerry Reed:
Orchestrating Black, White, and Grey
By Barbara Malinsky
Photos courtesy Jerry Reed
he image was a windmill vane
backlit by the brilliant sun that
cast an angled shadow on the
ground. An eight-year old boy
with his first camera, a gift from
his grandmother, captured its
arresting geometry. The photo, his first, left an
indelible memory that would inform his later
work. That boy was Jerry Reed and his future
photographic oeuvre would become voluminous.
T
“I came to fine art photography after a career in
oncology. Turning away from direct scientific
observation, my work speaks indirectly, but with
continued caring about how society’s institutions
affect its members.”
“ I took photographs all my life as best as I could
afford it,” Reed commented. Growing up in
Jacksonville, Florida he captured the patterned
butterfly roofs and the linear mid-century
a rc h i tecture there. He did what most
photographers do when given an opportunity
– weddings, commercial, and architectural
commissions. When it was time to retire, he
committed the same energy devoted to his
business career to becoming a professional
photographer. “I’ve been waiting my whole life
to do this and now is my time.”
Like conventional photographers, Reed began
documenting his surroundings, a critical witness
to our societal lives. One of his first projects was
the Greek Revival series. This was inspired by
the ideals that the Greeks espoused, the
betterment of man through reason. An Essex
resident, he provided some interesting
background for initiating that body of work.
“During the War of 1812, the English burned
portions of Essex as well as our nation’s capitol
in Washington. The style of public and private
buildings changed after Andrew Jackson’s
defeat of the English at New Orleans in 1815.
Beginning with Jackson’s presidency, public and
private architecture turned away from the
English inspired Georgian, toward a new style,
Greek Revival. Greece had recently won its
freedom from the Ottoman Empire. Informed
by western nations’ access to Greek temples,
Greek Revival architectural style was adopted to
represent fundamental values that our nation
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and the ancient Greeks shared.”
“My images capture the appearance of Greek
Revival darkly, suggesting that we failed to live
up to the principles of citizen evolvement in
government that these temples to democracy
were erected to represent to the world. These
beautiful public and private symbols of the
principles of personal responsibility and liberty
are being restored. I hope the principles that
they represent will also be recognized and revitalized. I am hoping for
a Greek Revival.”
His response to the recent economic
crisis led to another series, Abandoned.
These are images of abandoned places
of work where jobs had once provided
a livelihood and were now empty
because of outsourcing to other countries.
“I believe that this is a disregard for the
value of labor. There is a dignity to
every job well done. These buildings
represent places where people are
ready to go to work but have no work
to do.”
His current work is
part of an emerging trend among
photographers
–
transitioning from
observer to composer. Reed explains,
“Over
time, I have come
to see that what motivates me is the result of my
having redirected how I make images, turning
from the externally directed position of witness
to that of author. In so doing, I accept the entire
authorship of the creative process from my
creation of the paper sculpture to making of the
fine art print.” Some contemporary, notable
practitioners of this directorial process are Andy
Goldsworthy, Gretchen Garner, and Gregory
Crewdson who is a professor at Yale.
“Paper Work, my current three-year project is
comprised of twenty-six images. In my studio,
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I shape two-dimensional art papers giving
them edges and volumes, then light them
dramatically using Fresnel lighting to emphasize
their three-dimensional forms. I draw the
images or sometimes they just
come to me.” On occasion, he
even employs a smoke machine to create the desired effect.
They are photographed with a
Swiss Sinar 54 H camera that
is capable of producing 500
megabytes. This is the same
camera used in museums for
reproducing artwork. “Though
ephemeral, my short-lived forms
are preserved photographically.”
Reed mentioned that this is also
ecologically responsible because
the papers he uses are remnants
from art projects.
He is inspired by a variety of
photographers, sculptors, and
painters. Francis Bruguière
(1879 - 1945), Jaroslav Rössier
(1902 - 1990), and Abelardo
Morrell (1948 - ) employ the
repetitive patterns seen in Reed’s
work. “These photographers
helped me to work in keeping it
spare.” Painters such as Ellsworth
Kelly, Robert Motherwell, and
Piet Mondrian exhibit a minimalism also
characteristic of his artistic expression.
Plans for 2013 and future works are already in
place. The museum-quality camera will no
longer be in use. Reed sees the 32” x 40” size
as limiting and is now planning to produce
these images 6’ x 8’. “I want to avoid people
understanding what materials are used in these
images. I don’t want it to look like paper.” His
goal is to reach out to interior designers and
architects to use them as design elements in
homes and businesses. “They will be anodyne
topics, without rancor.”
Reed also teaches photography at the Essex
Library. A few years ago, he placed an
advertisement in a local paper. It was a“calling
all photographers” message
offering help in becoming an
artistic photographer.
He
shares his philosophy and
techniques about his subject
with his students.
“As an educator, my intention
is to provide learners with
enough fundamentals to be
able to begin making images.
Absent such guidance, learners
may be easily distracted from
the interior work of making
images that are meaningful to
them by the lure of a new
lens or camera. I prefer to
see learners create selfassignments that will sustain
their interest. My experience
is that adult learners flourish
most in environments that
provide critique. Feedback is
the breakfast of champions.
When learners identify gaps
between what they want their
images to say and their
mastery of the tools, it is
appropriate to introduce new
tools or to expand learners’ mastery of the
tools they are using.”
In the short time that he has been teaching, he
has had an amazing track record. During the
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first year, he focused on students simply
bringing in their work and discussing it. His
next goal was to maximize each student’s potential by imparting some simple artistic
principles. Though not formulaic, his basic
tenets are to make the photograph impactful
and then sustain its interest through various
techniques such as the juxtaposition of light,
His work has already been validated by
admittance into thirty-nine national juried
shows, winning seven honors this year alone.
A small sampling over the past few years
i n clude SPECTRA 2010 Photo Show,
Silvermine Art Center, New Canaan, CT;
IMAGES 2011, Guilford, CT, Opera House,
dark, and shade with studied composition.
Within three years, his eight-person class has
evolved from non-acceptance into juried exhibitions to fifty-eight accepted juried pieces.
In 2012, five of his students were received
into the Mystic Arts Center show with three of
them winning awards.
(Honorable Mention), Cooperation (Honorable
Mention); EXPOSURE 2011, West Hartford
Art League, CT, Paper Work #1, #2, and #3
(Third Place Award); TWISTED, Essex Art
Association, CT, Slinky (Second Place Award);
2012 ESSIE AWARD WINNER, Gallore
Gallery, Middletown, CT, Paper Work #1;
IMAGES 2012, Guilford, CT, Paper Work #2, #3, #4,
#5 (Honorable Mention).
In 2012, he had a solo exhibition at the
Essex Art Gallery.
He is represented by Photo-Eye, Santa Fe,
New Mexico Lumiere Brothers Gallery,
Moscow, Russia, Gallore Gallery, Middletown,
Connecticut
Light fuels photographs and Jerry Reed who
moves at its speed in pursuit of his passion.
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