CLOSED FOR THE MOMENT: PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAN GOTTLIEB

CLOSED FOR THE MOMENT: PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAN GOTTLIEB

Closed, for the Moment

The world is closed for this Moment – uniting us in anxiety, separation, and an odd quiet.  Each day I break from my at-home work (yes, I am fortunate to have that) to walk, observe, and photograph the quiet of my neighborhood streets and closed-for-business shops.

I am also fortunate to live in a supportive environment filled with amazing neighbors and locally-owned businesses, like Craven Allen. Within walking distance of my home and the Gallery, I’ve been looking at the painful beauty of closed places we take for granted as social binders.  And as an artist and environmental designer, I find the eerie silence both horrifying and strikingly beautiful – especially photographed in timeless black and white.

It’s important that we take time to pay close attention to this close(d) moment in history outside our very real anxieties.  Is this actually a Moment, or a tsunami warning of global change to our environment and economies?  Is the ever-accelerating pace of natural / human-caused crises on full display? Who knows, but we need to keep our minds and eyes wide Open with compassion and purpose.

Dan Gottlieb