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From a Woman's Perspective -- An Interview with Lili Almog
By Robert A. Schaefer, Jr. | Wisdom and Inspiration |
May 10, 2009
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All images are © Lili Almog
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| "The Other Half of the Sky" Book Cover |
When Powerhouse Books contacted me about doing an article on Lili Almog and their new book of her work, The Other Half of the Sky, I was not very familiar with her work. Powerhouse sent me her previous a book, a detailed look at the Carmelite order of nuns, titled Perfect Intimacy. They also sent her new book, The Other Half of the Sky, which portrays women in different walks of life in Mainland China. I became an instant fan of Ms. Almog’s unique way of looking at women and recently spoke with her about her vision in photography and her life both in Israel and the United States.
Robert Schaefer: Both of your bodies of work which have been made into books Perfect Intimacy and The Other Half Of The Sky are primarily studies of women. How did you come to select that topic? What are the similarities you see in them? The differences? Do you think that the images as a result of the clothing and art direction take the women as subjects back in time?
Lili Almog: During the past ten years I have focused my artistic efforts on creating representations of the feminine body and psyche. I have captured the spiritual and cultural identity of women influenced by western culture. Much of my work has focused on capturing women in their private spaces.
I come from a very matriarchal family in Israel—my grandmother had three daughters, and my mother has three daughters, so, I understand women and their feelings. I feel I connect with them better; my personal comfort level is higher when I work with women. Before I worked on Perfect Intimacy, I shot a series, which was taped like reality TV, of women in their bedrooms in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan. This was my first big body of work, which meant entering an unknown world. I entered this world of the unknown a second time with my Perfect Intimacy Series; as a Jewish woman, I knew nothing about nuns. Before I began the series, I had read Cave in the Snow, which is the autobiography of the first Buddhist nun Tenzin Palmo who lived in a cave. This book sparked my interest in nuns and I used a friend of a friend to connect to the Carmelite nuns so that I could photograph them in their rooms. My last body of work, The Other Half of the Sky, deals with, what was for me, an unknown land—China—and consists of portraits of women in the countryside, small cities, and villages of China. This series tells the story of the everyday lives of religious women, with an emphasis on the extraordinary situation of Muslim women in China.
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| The Gate |
At the beginning of my trip, I came to China in search of Muslim women, following research on women-only mosques. I learned that Muslims are considered one of many minorities in China. I found out that Chinese Islamic women are passionately traditional, yet firmly enmeshed in modern society. Their religious and domestic appearance is a blend of modern components mixed with expressions of traditional values. After spending some time with the Muslim women, and being exposed to Chinese culture in general, I realized how many complex layers of social diversity exist in Chinese culture (that the majority of Chinese citizens are not even aware of), and how fast this culture is changing. I then decided to travel to Yunnan, the province with most minorities, and meet the other "unknown" Chinese—the Mosou (matriarchal society in the Yunnan Province) women, examining them at a time when the demands of rapid growth and a sweeping desire for modernity have influenced the traditions and values that have sustained their culture for years.
RS: Perfect Intimacy is an understandable title for a body of work about an order of nuns. What does The Other Half Of The Sky have to do with images of China, particularly of women.
LA: “The Other Half of the Sky” comes from a well-known phrase (at least in Mainland China) that Mao Tse Tung had for women. When I chose the title, I interpreted it in an abstract way. Besides the "sky,” which is a big component in the pictures, the original Mao slogan is: "Women hold up half the sky." Based on that, I decided on The Other Half of the Sky, which is basically reflecting on the part that we don’t necessarily know or see. In a very ironic way the minorities were hidden by the Communist Regime, and until the late 1980s, when those territories were finely opened to the Han (the majority of Chinese people) and the western world, people could not visit these areas without special permission.
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| Lake Woman |
RS: In photographing for The Other Half Of The Sky, were you able to communicate at all with the women you photographed? They all have a very proud look, although the position of women in China is reportedly quite low. How did you find their self-awareness?
LA: I had to communicate with them through a translator, so I was not able to speak with them freely. However, after a few days with them, we were using hands and feet to achieve a more direct communication. Most of these women are illiterate, but they are happy with their lives and do not have a western-influenced need of possessions as do some of the younger Chinese in urban areas.
I never start photographing before I make a basic friendly contact with my sitters. I have to gain their trust and make them comfortable first, and only after they understand what my mission is and after spending some time together, do we will start playing with the camera. A woman is a woman—she always wants to look pretty, even if it’s happening somewhere in the Himalayas. My main idea is to capture “the moment,” which means to create as natural an image as possible. Through that, I can portray the state of mind and the personality of the woman. The best way to get this effect is to make her feel comfortable and confident. Generally speaking, most of the women were very shy and a bit suspicious at the beginning, but when I gained their trust things started to roll …
RS: Although the materials of the clothing in your portraits of Chinese women do not appear to be very fine, they somehow have a feel of fashion. Were you thinking of that at all when you took them?
LA: The appearances of the women were a great inspiration and give a lot of information about them. They covered their bodies in many layers of colorful, matching fabrics, combining their tribal and religious clothing with the traditional Chinese style of dress along with some modern elements—such as a picture of a pop idol icon pushed in the lining of their hat, or other western accessories that can be found anywhere in China today—using their own aesthetic sense and style. No matter where I was photographing in China, I was certainly not thinking about the aspect of fashion; however, the images just turned out to have a feel of fashion. Personally, I am very fashion-oriented, so I have no problem that these images have a sense of fashion - in the village, on the mountains, or just across from an empty field - the vibrant colors glow from a far distance, and one recognizes the color before realizing the actual person’s shape. I remember the first time that I came close to a Mosou woman: I couldn’t believe the personal sense of style in her clothing—it was near perfection and could have been taken from any current fashion magazine. For me those textile layers add another depth to the storytelling of who those women are and where they are from. I was struck by the way the women workers carried themselves with ease in the open fields and roads while conducting physically hard labor tasks. The women were dignified in their posture, clothing, and movements.
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| Two Lovers |
RS: What is your background? Were you interested in art and or photography as you were growing up?
LA: I was born in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1961 and as a child was more into painting and drawings than photography. Influenced by my best friend’s taking photography classes, I bought my first camera (a Canon A1) when I was 23 years old and started taking photography classes at the Camera Obscura School in Tel Aviv. I studied photography and art at Camera Obscura from 1983-85. In 1986, I moved to New York and began my photography career working as a photojournalist for several international news publications, focusing on fashion and portraiture. I completed my BFA with honors in 1992 at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Following graduation, I was a freelance photographer and was published and featured in New York Magazine, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Vogue, and in several works of fiction.
RS: Which photographers have inspired your work?
LA: I feel I have been influenced by photographers Duane Michals, as well as Nan Goldin. I remember as a student going to her slide show presentation from her book, "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency," and what a great impression it left on me—the combination of sound and image, a brilliant pre-video installation. I think that generally I am more attracted to work that combines narrative with a strong visual impact, that will make the imagination start to roll—for me that is the wining combination. My inspiration comes not only from photographers but also from old master painters and visual artists like Cranach, Bacon and Rothko, Nam June Paik and filmmaker John Waters.
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| Mountain Woman |
RS: Was putting The Other Half Of The Sky easier to produce after having done Perfect Intimacy? What suggestions would you give to photographers aspiring to publish a book of their work?
LA: No project is easy or similar. Each has its own difficulties and challenges, which makes it equally hard and rewarding. If anything, I would say that it will probably get harder because the challenge of the next book will be greater.
I would tell all photographers interested in publishing a book to their work to edit it themselves. Have a concept of what the finished product should be and don’t simply submit a box of photographs. As for subject material, I would tell them not to worry about their subject material if they feel strongly about it.
RS: What equipment do you use to produce your photography?
LA: I shoot with a medium-format Mamiya 645.
RS: Has your work always involved narratives of life-styles with a main focus on women? Have you considered portraying women in Israel?
LA: As a matter of fact, yes. Although I don't live in Israel, I am always interested in the cultural changes there, and they are massive due the vast new immigrations to Israel in the last 20 years (mainly from Russia and Ethiopia). I defiantly have some projects that I would like to develop more in Israel, but I need to wait for the right time.
RS: Did you serve in the Israeli army? Have you thought about documenting that aspect of women’s lives in Israel?
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| Muslim Girl |
LA: Yes, of course I served in the Israeli Army; it is mandatory. However, I need the right reason or story, inspiration and, of course, the right angle to start any project of this nature. It is also difficult to connect sometimes with specific things that are happening in Israel because I don't live there anymore. As far as my personal experience in the army I was eighteen when I was in the army, and I had an office job, which was so boring...
RS: Many of the images in The Other Half of the Sky involve portals. Does that have any particular significance?
LA: Each chapter of The Other Half of the Sky begins with the entrance to that region of China and refers to the chapter it portrays.
RS: What does the future hold for you and your photography?
LA: As in the past, I will be going on to the next big project. I would like to explore working more with video. I feel that still photography and video are becoming one medium (today every "respectable" camera has a video feature in it) and I feel that this is something that will influence my next body of work. As far as the subject matter of the next project, you'll have to stay tuned.
RS: I look forward to finding out what it is and viewing the images accompanying it.
You can contact Lili at: lilialmog@mac.com
See more of Lili’s work at: http://www.lilialmog.com
More information about The Other Half of the Sky can be found at Powerhouse Books: http://www.powerhousebooks.com/book/1034
Robert A. Schaefer, Jr. is a founding member of Photoworkshop.com, and has been a photographer for over 30 years. His work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York as well as the Bibliothéque Nationale in Paris, France. Most recently he had a one-person exhibition (November 10, 2007 to January 8, 2008) at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Montgomery, Alabama his home state. He writes about photography for Double Exposure and The Photo Review in Pennsylvania and teaches photography in the Department of Continuing and Professional Studies at New York University. On May 9th he is instructing a workshop on cyanotype printing at the Center for Alternative Photography in New York City. His work is represented by the Domeischel Gallery, Ltd. as well as Wm Floyd in New York City and the DeFrog Gallery in Houston,Texas.
Robert can be contacted at rasjrpro@earthlink.net and www.schaeferphoto.com
Let us know if you found this article useful, and tell us what kinds of articles you'd like to see in upcoming issues. Send your comments and ideas to the editor.
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Last Updated: Jul 10th, 2010 - 16:19:44
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