Dale Yudelman at the KZNSA
by Carol Brown
The line between commercial photography and so-called art photography has blurred and it is at this intersection that Dale Yudelman makes his work. Many of our current photographic luminaries, such as the stable of Drum photographers who are so in vogue at the moment, were originally photo-journalists and their works are now seen in a new light where our almost obsessive need to preserve our history has led us to seeking out the artistic qualities which were never intended. Yudelman commenced his career as a photographer for The Star and then moved overseas from where he has recently returned, now choosing to enter the rarified gallery environment. He has previously collaborated with painter Arlene Amaler-Raviv, another signal that he positions himself in the territory of fine art.
His images are artificially constructed using computer technology - as his press release states, this is not a new technique and was previously achieved by superimposing two negatives to make one image. Many photographers also create stage-like settings which are then photographed and these question the old addage 'The camera never lies'. 'Reality Bytes' is a series of images set in an urban context and walking into the gallery one is initially dazzled by these 38 glossy, hard-edged sometimes humorous photographs.
The photographs capture moments (either real or constructed) and illustrate a post-apartheid country which is sometimes sad, sometimes ironic and often funny. The images may or may not have been really there - with technology the boundaries of fact and fiction have blurred. A photograph of a man carrying a painting of a typical Cape mountain and sea scene as he walks past the real scene (covered in mist) is possible but unlikely. Then we can share a wry laugh at the farmer sitting on a deckchair (we somehow know he is a farmer without being told - maybe it's the hat, the patterned shirt and the carefree pose) watching a girl riding a rodeo- like bull atop a blow-up platform while four aeroplanes fly in a formation echoing the flags on the ground. The urban cowboy but all plastic? Another photo which I found very visually pleasing was the illuminated cross on a 'new' Christian church with a veiled Muslim woman walking past; a perfect moment to catch those strange religious intersections in our country. Most of the photos are set in the city against the backdrops of the buildings, the grime and the natural scenery.
Yudelman's previous experience as a photographer for high end magazines and advertising lies behind the construction of his images. One of the attractions of a magazine photo is the excitement of turning each page in anticipation of the next photo. The best photographers in this genre satisfy this need for instant gratification and do not disappoint on that turn of the page. I found this quality in the exhibition. The pictures amused and entertained and satisfied with their technical competence and quirky vision but I wanted to move quickly onto the next and was not drawn to linger too long on any image.
This is a very familiar feeling in life today where we are all rushing and need our attention captured before we are led onto the next set of sensory stimulations. Yudelman's work captures the contemporary zeitgeist, but somehow seems to lack staying power. I felt that a stronger engagement with his subjects (albeit constructed) would give his work more weight. The images, although visually satisfying, do not linger in the mind or lead to questioning.
Alongside this body of work was shown the movie Post Mortem 2010 which took voices from a morning talk show on SAFM where three South Africans, Fanie, Robert and Angela, called in to voice their opinion on the news of the country winning the bid to host Soccer World Cup 2010. These were played over a series of images of young children playing soccer on dusty fields and the installation was set up in a game machine. This somehow had more impact for me. Maybe it was the graininess in contrast to the gloss of the 'Reality Bytes' pics, maybe it was because there were several layers and the reality seemed more plausible than that in the constructed photographs.
I have a sense that Yudelman is balanced on a see-saw which from where he could tilt towards a deeper expression of artistic ideas or he could continue as an excellent commercial photographer. Only he can decide in which direction to tip the balance.
Opened: February 13
Closes: March 4
The KZNSA Gallery
166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood, Durban
Tel: (031) 202 3686
Fax: (031) 201 8051
Email: curator@kznsagallery.co.za
www.kznsagallery.co.za
Hours: Tue - Fri 10am - 5pm, Sat - Sun 10am - 4pm
