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Photography exhibit in Weldon appeals to all

March 25, 2011
By Laura Trabucco

Customers of Forest City Image Centre may have had the pleasure of meeting MJ Idzerda, but now they will have the opportunity to see his art. Besides managing the Image Centre and teaching photography lessons, Idzerda is a talented and passionate photographer.

Recently approached by Weldon Library, his latest work is currently on display in the library’s Spencer Gallery. Idzerda has assembled a striking collection of images that can be appreciated by amateur audiences and seasoned photography connoisseurs alike. The pictures were taken over the past few years in London and its surrounding rural areas.

Idzerda’s exhibit is made up of a series of prints, both black and white and colour. They capture urban and rural landscapes in varying degrees of abstraction. The photographs showcase a multitude of bridges, picnics tables, silos, grain elevators and more. Each photograph is rife with emotion though the meanings are very much open to interpretation. In many, the visual textures are enticing, detailed and almost tangible. His work calls attention to tiny details that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.

“I’m interested in things people go by everyday,” Idzerda explains. “There are a lot of people who like to photograph beautiful landscapes. I do that as well, but these landscapes are cityscapes, structures that are around us that we never stop to look at.”

He insists there is no romanticism attached to the places he photographs. Often times, when driving around, he simply stops when he sees a place he would like to capture.

“Photography is really a relationship – there are two parts to photography — you and your subject matter. And when you meet your subject matter, the result is your photograph,” he says.

Idzerda often goes out searching in specific areas, or more often, an area catches his eye and from there starts hunting.

“You’re on a mission. You’re trying to get something out of the subject,” he says. “You’re actively looking, but it’s sort of a passive thing as well — if a subject presents itself, you know when to take the shot.”

“There is a tradition of this art form in photography that goes back to the 1920s in America,” Idzerda explains, adding photographers were hired to document new buildings for industries or for the city. In his work, Idzerda has continued this tradition while trying to go a bit further by bringing an artistic edge.

All the prints are digital, with a few exceptions. When asked about his personal preferences for the different tools of his trade, he stresses emphatically the kind of camera used is relatively unimportant. What is important is the end result. Some photos were even shot on a basic point and shoot camera. Idzerda explains that for black and white prints he prefers to shoot in black and white right on his camera. To differentiate from the urban landscapes, the rural scenes are tinted yellow.

“I try to take as few images as possible,” he says. “I’ll go out and come home with maybe 30 pictures.” He is a strong advocate for quality over quantity. Clarifying, Idzerda explains that for a photo to be of good quality you have to learn to see and capture, and that it’s essential to understand how your camera works.

“There is a visual language here,” he explains, noting that this language involves line, shape, perspective and contrast. “It’s about finding these elements and paying attention to them.” Visual repetition, he adds, is also an important part of the language.

The prints showcase only two people, are faceless and at a considerable distance. “I typically leave people out,” Idzerda says, noting that he tends to gravitate towards places that are temporarily vacant.

“I find that people can be distracting.”

All the prints are for sale, with the price on request.  Idzerda’s work will be on display in the Spencer Gallery, located on the first floor of the Weldon Library, until April 30.

 

 

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