On Tuesday night I attended the opening of Otto Olaf Becker’s “Above Zero” at the Paul Amador gallery. The photography exhibition, up through January 9, depicts the glacial rivers of Greenland’s interior.
Photography of the natural world has long been held as a visual testament to the need for its preservation. Becker shot with a large format camera- not easy to haul across a country on ice shoes. In purpose and technique, his work recalls that of Carlton Watkins, Timothy O'Sullivan, and Ansel Adams, to similar effect. In “Above Zero,” a comment on the region's recent, uncharacteristically warm weather, Becker uses the 24-hour light of the region’s summer to expose the footprints in the vast, white expanse of Greenland’s interior.
The pure white of ancient glaciers is shown sullied by dirt and soot that has been absorbed by the air, and melted into the ice. The bright greenish blue rivers cut through already eroded blocks of ice. The result is a series of stepped layers, like the layers of the earth’s crust. One photo depicts a vast expanse of gray snow, peppered with groups of tourists taking their own pictures in the “untouched landscape.”
Becker takes a purposefully restrained approach to telling a highly controversial story. He skates the line between science and subjectivity. What I love most about his work is that as good as it is (and it is very good), there is still room to grow. Becker is widely exhibited and inarguably talented, but his work has potential in size and scope. I am excited to see where his work goes and grows. In the meantime, with its beautifully artful execution of so tender a subject, "Above Zero" is well worth seeing.
To learn more about the exhibition, please visit http://www.amadorgallery.com/Current%20exhibition.html
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