Photographer Paul Weiner curates Zeitgeist exhibit

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

Photographer Paul Weiner has a knack for following interesting people around. His artist portraits have been featured in over 100 exhibitions throughout the US; his images, which are set in darkness by utilizing controlled artificial and natural light as well as manipulated time sequences, have appeared in national magazines such as Photographer's Forum, Photo Metro and Photo Review, and locally in the Boston Globe, ArtsMedia, the Weekly Dig and the Boston Phoenix. From Sept. 23–Oct. 5, his curated show “The Art of Darkness,” at the Zeitgeist Gallery in Inman Square, Cambridge, will feature his work as well as that of three others known for employing a minimally illuminated, yet visually arresting approach. The exhibit is free, with an opening reception to be held on Sunday, Sept. 28, from 3-6 p.m.

In surreal yet telling, momentary glimpses, Weiner’s cibachrome prints capture artists in their studios in the dark with the use of a simple flashlight.

Weiner, a Dallas native who holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics from the University of Texas and a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Tulane, is a software developer of scientific and technical developer in Milford in addition to a freelance photographer whose work has included bar mitzvahs. He credits his Judaic upbringing with instilling a regard for the value of all human beings. “There was a mixture of religions and peoples in Texas,” he recalled. “I acquired a tolerance for the beliefs of others, including their outlooks and life interests. My photos are a sort of psychological study of artists and their environments, a look at what drives them to do what they do.”

Weiner’s family belonged to a Reform congregation; his parents are from Philadelphia and New York, his grandparents Polish and Russian immigrants. His two brothers are still in Texas.

The Zeitgeist show will also feature the photography of Nicolas Bernier, Eva Hidvegi Demjen and Lance Keimig. Bernier and Keimig favor nighttime landscapes, Bernier’s of an electrified New York and Keimig’s, industrial and rural settings. Bernier, who was raised in the south of France, Greece and Paris, studied at Ecole du Louvre for ten years, and earned his Architect D.P.L.G. Degree at Ecole des Beaux Arts in 1995. His blurred yet bright Manhattan West Side skylines, created by zooming in while on the Staten Island ferry, were selected for a 1987 Municipal Art Society/Urban Center international competition. "This work is a vision of an electrified Big Apple shining, shaking, vibrating and resonating in the darkness of night,” observed publicist Mary Curtin. “Imagine a huge and busy ocean liner sailing in enigmatic silence toward a future of unexpected events,” she added.

Keimig, first introduced to the camera in 1984, nearly always photographs at night. He draws upon lunar and artificial sources of illumination in his single-exposure scenes of industrial sites, which are then fashioned into both black and white and color prints. "The night is a canvas on which to build an image over the course of time,” he said. “Minutes, or even hours, are compounded on top of each other, forced onto a single frame of film.”

Demjen created his photograms in darkrooms by placing objects, such as flowers and marbles, on photosensitive paper and exposing it to light, resulting in multi-gradient layers. A native of Budapest who emigrated to the US in 1973, Demjen has exhibited her work since 1965; her awards include “Picture of the Year” by the Hungarian Art Association for Photography and the “Asahi Shimbun” by the Japan Association of Photographic Societies. She co-founded the custom photo lab Black and White Inc.; her work is currently in several private collections and the De Cordova Museum corporate art program

Weiner continues in his signature vein. “My ongoing series of photographic portraits of artists studies how they create personal identity through their art,” he explained, noting that he carefully arranges props, which accentuate the symbiosis between the artist and their work. “The use of dramatic, surreal lighting blurs the distinction between the artists and their creations and helps to more clearly communicate the roles that they are playing,” he added. “The series provides insight into the private world of artists, as well as a historical record of the nature and variety of artistic work currently being produced."

The opening reception for “The Art of Darkness” is Sunday, Sept. 28, from 3-6 p.m. The exhibit, which runs through Oct. 5, is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible. At the Zeitgeist Gallery, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge. For information, please call 617-876-6060 or visit www.zeitgeist-gallery.org.