Guy Glasberg
A Body Gains Authority, 2021
Passageway of the Faculty of Law, Mount Scopus Campus
(Contributed by the Lucie Rosenbaum Foundation for Contemporary Israeli Photography)
Material: Inkjet print
Size: (1) 26.5x21.5
(2) 50x61
The body of the photograph embodies the essence of touch. Light touches a sensitive medium, and the reaction is the emergence of a photograph on the film or paper, which is then processed and corrected by the touch of chemicals. Right now, touch is everything and nothing for me; it is real and fake, sensitive and cruel, terrifying and wonderful. My workspaces shift between the house where I grew up and the house where I am currently living in Haifa, which doubles as a studio and a darkroom. The archive of photographs my grandfather took before he immigrated to Israel from Germany serves as a bridge between movement and time, past and present, Berlin and Haifa, weaving a conversation between five generations. Working with different techniques, both traditional and new, allows me to explore and play with various possibilities of appearance, touch, and memory. I work in large formats, contact prints with phone screens, and digital scans, assembling still life in my home studio, and photographing my relatives with a technique that controls light and shadow. Hence, the photographer can emphasize certain elements, create depth and three-dimensionality, convey feeling and atmosphere, and direct the viewer’s attention in the old German method of creating images and positioning objects or subjects. Using these techniques, I move along the spectrum of control over the final image: from complete control of the process to working in the dark, in a state of essential blindness to the final image, until it is corrected, still blurry in its final form. Proximity and distance are present in my work in the physical sense but also in the context of memory and erasure. In a time when reality oscillates between the existing and the fabricated, the possibility of grasping something real is put into question, as that which exists shifts away from the unseen to the point of losing touch with reality.
Guy Glasberg
Guy Glasberg (b. 1995) is a photographer who combines analogue and digital techniques, camera-less photography, and archival materials. He graduated with honors from the Department of Photography and Screen Arts, WIZO School of Design, Haifa. Glasberg was awarded special commendation at the Micha Kirshner Photography Competition (2021).
The Adult Me and the Younger Me
Guy Glasberg’s work prompts me to ponder my own relationship with myself – the relationship between my younger self and my adult self, reflected in the image of one man in his youth and in his prime. Our relationship with ourselves is characterized by the authority of the adult self over the younger self. This authority is what guides our body towards the smallest actions as well as the biggest and most fateful actions. After all, throughout our youth we pursue the goal of becoming our successful adult self. It seems that the relationship between the two may be hostile.
Nevertheless, we can see that in both photographs, the younger self and the adult self stand next to one another – shoulder to shoulder or holding one another tight, almost merging into one body. This is to say that although the adult self is the body that grants authority, there is utter synergy between the two. Do not be afraid to look at yourself and at the same time do not be afraid to strive for a desired goal. Even when we are working towards a lofty goal, let us not forget to look at ourselves. Let us not forget our complex and binding, but at the same time wonderful relationship with ourselves. This relationship serves as the safe space from which we can draw strength, and if we manage it correctly, our body will receive authority from both our younger self and our adult self.
Yahav Tavasi
Yahav Tavasi is a master’s student in communication majoring in internet and media at the Hebrew University. His research focuses on social media.