When most people hear of photography featuring toddlers they think of those nice, safe posed shots that you can have taken at any studio. Jill Greenberg has opted to feature toddlers in her latest showing, “End Times”, but there is nothing poised and restrained about these shots. Instead she has taken these babies at their rawest moments and has thought to connect the visual angst with her own fears for the future. She states, “I love the raw emotion of children, because it comes close to the anger and helplessness I feel about our current political and social situation.”
Greenberg’s work is powerful, and the images of crying babies could easily be considered taboo by some purists. There’s no doubt that this kind of risk may indeed help Greenberg cross over from an established commercial profession. Her sharp and saturated portraits are striking. She creates portraits that demand our attention as it is impossible to ignore the sight of a crying baby either in real life or on canvas.
As it stands, Greenberg has already enjoyed a great deal of success with a multitude of celebrity photo shoots (Clint Eastwood, Sharon Stone, and Tom Cruise, to name just a few) under her belt. She has also done the covers for magazines like Time, Newsweek, and Vibe. It’s her current endeavor that strikes the most personal chord thus far.
“End Times” is Greenberg’s second solo exhibit (Her first show, Monkey Portraits was very successful in the winter of 2004). It will run from April 22- May 27, 2006 at The Paul Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.
An opening night reception with the artist takes place on Saturday, April 22nd from 6:00pm – 9:00pm. The Paul Kopeikin Gallery is located at 6150 Wilshire Boulevard (just west of Fairfax), Los Angeles, CA 90048. For more information please call 323-937-0765 or visit the gallery's web site.
Article comments
1 - Bob Dobbs
You do realize that she emotionally tortured -- parents left the room, put them in a scary situation, took things away from them -- the children to get them to emote?
I'm all for photography documenting the dark side of the human state, but manipulating children to get them to effectively melt down seems a bit much.
2 - Rex
Is "stupid and maniputative" considered a personal attack? If not, I up the ante and call her so-called process Nazi-like. The Nazis ran experiments that staved Jews to see how long they will last without food. Children do not know the difference...as far as they are concerned, you intentionally staved them for something they had and enjoyed. Greenberg a Jew should be more sensitive to this.
3 - Jess
What Greenberg did to induce the emotion is the same as any parent would do. What parent hasn't experienced their child crying because they don't get a toy or a lolly bought for them, or because they don't get their own way? The parents were in the room at all times and the lollipops were returned to the children straight after the photos were taken. It is highly doubtful that the 30 secs of crying because they had a lolly taken away is going to affect the emotionally, physically or psychologically in their adult life.
4 - Bacon
Jess, you shouldn't compare the act of intentionally inducing children to tears for profit or other self-serving purposes with that of parents refusing to buy a toy, candy or any other luxury their children would desire as punishment or not being able to afford it. That's like comparing apples to oranges.