Edgemar Center for the Arts

proudly presents

P O R T R A I T S

 by

 Robert Zuckerman

Opening reception: Sunday, October 24th 7-10pm

RSVP  required: 310.392.7327, ext. 2

2437 Main Street

Santa Monica, CA  90405

Robert Zuckerman

Portraits

In 1977, I was in New York and showed some of my photographs, which at the time were black and white urban landscapes, mostly from the Bay Area, to a midtown gallery curator.  He said to me: “Your work is visually stunning but it lacks emotional content.” This was a key moment for me in that, whether I agreed with him or not in his assessment of my work, it helped me define my approach, intention and hoped for achievement of my photography. Sixteen years later, in Los Angeles, I met an artist from San Francisco – she was HIV Positive and Albino – who painted pictures of flowers that radiated intense feeling.  In her artist’s statement she said:  “The more personal my expression, the more universal its meaning.” This was another key, defining, profoundly influential moment in my path.  These and other inspirational/instructional moments have helped shape my approach to portraiture and photography in general.  Simply put, I see myself as a receiver more than as a director.  While I instinctively strive to find and/or create a space/environment that is conducive and fertile, that visually draws viewers in while flattering the subject (in the way a farmer desires fertile soil in which to plant seeds), I then act as a receiver, a sponge, an absorber, open to the moments, nuances, gestures and spirit of the person being photographed.  Rather than directing the gestures and movements of the person, I become open, and more fully allow myself to be directed by the movements, gestures and spirit of the being in front of the camera.  In speaking with students about photography, I talk about respecting people, never photographing someone who doesn’t want to be photographed, and, rather than asking to “take” someone’s picture, to ask them: “Can we make a picture together?”, acknowledging the true collaboration between the person in front of and behind the camera.  In this regard, photography and portraiture is about all involved, both in front of, behind and around the camera.  The intention and care put in by the photographer will come through in the final image.  While I have been fortunate in meeting and working with many well-known people over the years, I go into all sessions with respect and care, with wanting to give the subject (my collaborator), and other viewers, something of value that will help and give enjoyment for a long time.

                                                                                                           ~Robert Zuckerman

Robert Zuckerman

Will Smith calls him ‘Picasso.’ Jerry Bruckheimer, Denzel Washington and Michael Bay vie to have him on their film sets.  Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced him to President Bill Clinton by saying “This is Robert Zuckerman, the best photographer I have ever worked with.”

As a photographer in the motion picture industry, Robert Zuckerman’s images have become the advertising and publicity campaigns for such films as “The Crow,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Any Given Sunday,” “Training Day,” “Terminator 3,” “Bad Boys 2”, “National Treasure,” “Transformers,” “Pursuit of Happyness” and “The Great Debaters,” among others, as well as television series including “The Shield,” “Rescue Me” and “Nip/Tuck.” He has done recent album cover and movie poster photography for Will Smith and was invited to be the personal photographer for the family of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz.

Whether on or off the set, his connection is to emotional content, to the feeling present in the subject and in the moment. Zuckerman has photographed countless weddings, family portraits, and pregnancy pictures – anything where there is spirit and love in the room, from the inner city to the mansions of Malibu.

 His book Kindsight (Kindsight Press, LLC) is a collection of photographs and accompanying texts by Zuckerman illuminating the richness of everyday life encounters and experiences. From taxi and bus drivers to waitresses to plumbers to kids at a playground, even to cats, Kindsight shows the extraordinary within the ordinary. James Crump, founder of Channel Photographics, says “Zuckerman’s portraits are infused with an uncanny sense of hope and spirit in the post 9/11 era.” The book includes forewords by, among others, Will Smith, Debra Winger, poet Michael Lally and novelist Elaine Kagan.  It is currently on the PEN American Center’s “Best Book Read This Year” list.

Since the publication of Kindsight, Robert has spoken to student and youth groups across the country, initiating workshops in which students use photography and writing together – as in the book – to connect with the richness of life around them. He has spoken at Authors at Google, been featured in a PBS story about him, and was a panelist at the KidsRisk Symposium at the Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, speaking on empowering youth through positive media modalities. He is sought as a mentor by aspiring artists worldwide.

 Among other credits, Zuckerman has photographed campaigns for United Way and City of Hope. He co-produced the ground breaking, award winning documentary “Video From Russia: The People Speak” (1984, directed by Dimitri Devyatkin) which ran on ABC TV and then on A&E for three years. He directed and produced the New York City portion of the official “Hands Across America” video in 1986. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the American Film Institute.

 “For me, photography as much as possible has become an integration of life and craft. Through it I am able to give value to people’s lives and derive value in my own life, beyond making a living.”

Contact 323.864.3100 or robert@robertzuckerman.com