“I wasn’t born a commercial photographer. I was born an artist, and I’ve been doing art my whole life.” —Jill Greenberg
The photographer, Jill Greenberg’s, latest show Horse is ending this week at ClampArt. With her signature lighting, Greenberg is back in action doing what she does best: portraits. Her work, distinctive and often imitated, rides a fine line between what many argue is “commercial” and what is “fine art.” I won’t belabor any distinctions here.
In the essay to her new book Horses. Greenberg writes, “I explore how the photography relates to gender issues and whether horses are perceived as feminine or masculine… I ended up getting to the place where they’re both.” Whether others see this connection is an open question, but from an aesthetic point-of-view, I find these portraits, with their powerful lighting and re-touched colors, to be quite appealing. They make me see horses in a fresh way.
For those of you who are curious about how Greenberg captured these images, here is a behind-the-scenes video of her in action. Given the set-up, crew, and the hard work that goes into producing a photo shoot, I can assure you that she’s not “horsing around.” —Lane Nevares
