Herzog Exhibition

On Saturday Ramone and I took our kids to view the Fred Herzog Photography Exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Herzog was born in Germany and emigrated to Canada after WWII. During the 1950s he began to chronicle on film the life of Vancouver. Seeing the snaps brought back so many memories of the "ah, yeah, I remember that!" variety. The old buses, the prices of foods, the shape of cars, and the many coca cola images brought on some of the strongest recollections.

As a huge admirer of street photography, Herzog's work captured my imagination. One of the notable aspects of Fred Herzog's work is that he choose to work in colour Kodachrome.
Though my preference is usually for the subtly and suggestiveness of black and white film work, I found that Herzog's Kodachrome shots were somehow more full of vitality; the snapshots somehow show the time period more effectively. Yet I cannot say why.

The exhibit is on the third floor of the VAG and I highly recommend going. Especially interesting for those who have lived in Vancouver, it will still be full of wonder for those who haven't. My daughter found the old fashions interesting, whereas my son found the way the buildings looked in the photographs compared to now to be very interesting. The differences got him thinking.
That in itself is a good thing; as thoughtfulness is always to be preferred to being thoughtless. Another thing my kids found out about through Herzog's images concerns the concept of inflation. Take a peek at the prices at the Paris Cafe on Main Street. What would one pay now in 2007 for the same meal options?

I had to chuckle at the cheesy Santa items. That poor fake tree; how much more tinsel could it take?

How many of you remember the Pepsi-Santa advertising association? Through all of Herzog's work he does a fine job hazing out those aspects peripheral to the subject of his image. This is called 'bokeh'. And Fred Herzog's images use bokeh to great advantage.