Taking Measure is the latest series of photographs by Neil Folberg that investigates themes that have occurred throughout his career. The eighteen photographs featured explore the relationship between man, nature, and the cosmos, an assertion of a theme that in one way or another has continued throughout his work. Whether in the physical form or in a more symbolic one, Folberg’s dramatic color prints explore the limitless possibilities of life, our imaginations, and the universe beyond our reach. Often drawn to remote lands, Folberg made all but one of the photographs in Iceland.
Folberg traveled to the Faroe Islands in 2015 to photograph a solar eclipse. After a week in Iceland, he rented the last available cottage on the islands in the village of Saksun at the northern tip of Streymoy Island. Using Google Earth, he found the exact time and position the eclipse would occur outside his cottage. At 9:40 am on March 19, 19.5 degrees above the horizon, the sun would silently disappear behind the moon. Satellite data indicated there would be scattered clouds. Using the app on his phone, he followed the path of the sun. He didn’t expect it to grow dark so quickly nor was he prepared for the drop in temperature. Then the eclipse was over and light returned.
Clockwork Universe symbolically begins this journey, guiding Folberg to take measure along the way. Sunstone is a luminous image of a crystal Vikings used to determine the location of the sun with an acute degree of accuracy when it could not be seen. In Solar System a universe of multiple earth-like planets varying distances from a sun rests on volcanic rock formations and hints at the notion of creation. The artist’s presence inserts, both literally and figuratively, an element of control. Folberg’s theme culminates in I Am the Lighthouse, where he is seen next to an unlit lighthouse with the sun hidden behind the clouds. Yet another sun, bright and glowing, emanates from his face. Taking Measure is a powerful series that explores the complexity of our existence and the beauty that surrounds us.
Neil Folberg was born in San Francisco in 1950, but spent most of his childhood in the Midwestern United States, becoming interested in photography around 1966. In 1967, he began studies with Ansel Adams, the American landscape photographer. In 1968, Folberg enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley which led through a program of individualized study with William Garnett to a B.A. in Photographic Field Studies.
In 1979, Folberg made Israel his homeland. He began photographing in the Sinai, working there until Sinai was returned to Egyptian control. His desert landscapes have been collected together along with a text that Folberg wrote in a book titled In a Desert Land: Photographs of Israel, Egypt and Jordan by Neil Folberg published by Abbeville Press of New York in 1987.
He had a major exhibition at the Musée Nicéphore Niépce in Chalon-sur-Saone, France in 1990/91. In 1992, he was commissioned by the Aperture Foundation to photograph synagogues all over the world, published by Aperture Press, New York. The book, And I Shall Dwell Among Them: Historic Synagogues of the World was accompanied by travelling exhibitions in Europe and the United States and publication of a portfolio of EverColor pigment transfer prints by Aperture Press and Vision Editions.
He returned to black-and-white work with his series of photographs of starry night landscapes set in ancient ruins and scenes of the Middle East. This work has been collected together in the book, Celestial Nights: Visions of an Ancient Land (Aperture Press, New York 2001). The traveling exhibition, circulated by Aperture, was shown in a dozen museums throughout the world, including venues, in France, the U.S. and more recently, the Museum of Photographic Arts in Japan.
Folberg traveled to the Faroe Islands in 2015 to photograph a solar eclipse. After a week in Iceland, he rented the last available cottage on the islands in the village of Saksun at the northern tip of Streymoy Island. Using Google Earth, he found the exact time and position the eclipse would occur outside his cottage. At 9:40 am on March 19, 19.5 degrees above the horizon, the sun would silently disappear behind the moon. Satellite data indicated there would be scattered clouds. Using the app on his phone, he followed the path of the sun. He didn’t expect it to grow dark so quickly nor was he prepared for the drop in temperature. Then the eclipse was over and light returned.
Clockwork Universe symbolically begins this journey, guiding Folberg to take measure along the way. Sunstone is a luminous image of a crystal Vikings used to determine the location of the sun with an acute degree of accuracy when it could not be seen. In Solar System a universe of multiple earth-like planets varying distances from a sun rests on volcanic rock formations and hints at the notion of creation. The artist’s presence inserts, both literally and figuratively, an element of control. Folberg’s theme culminates in I Am the Lighthouse, where he is seen next to an unlit lighthouse with the sun hidden behind the clouds. Yet another sun, bright and glowing, emanates from his face. Taking Measure is a powerful series that explores the complexity of our existence and the beauty that surrounds us.
Neil Folberg was born in San Francisco in 1950, but spent most of his childhood in the Midwestern United States, becoming interested in photography around 1966. In 1967, he began studies with Ansel Adams, the American landscape photographer. In 1968, Folberg enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley which led through a program of individualized study with William Garnett to a B.A. in Photographic Field Studies.
In 1979, Folberg made Israel his homeland. He began photographing in the Sinai, working there until Sinai was returned to Egyptian control. His desert landscapes have been collected together along with a text that Folberg wrote in a book titled In a Desert Land: Photographs of Israel, Egypt and Jordan by Neil Folberg published by Abbeville Press of New York in 1987.
He had a major exhibition at the Musée Nicéphore Niépce in Chalon-sur-Saone, France in 1990/91. In 1992, he was commissioned by the Aperture Foundation to photograph synagogues all over the world, published by Aperture Press, New York. The book, And I Shall Dwell Among Them: Historic Synagogues of the World was accompanied by travelling exhibitions in Europe and the United States and publication of a portfolio of EverColor pigment transfer prints by Aperture Press and Vision Editions.
He returned to black-and-white work with his series of photographs of starry night landscapes set in ancient ruins and scenes of the Middle East. This work has been collected together in the book, Celestial Nights: Visions of an Ancient Land (Aperture Press, New York 2001). The traveling exhibition, circulated by Aperture, was shown in a dozen museums throughout the world, including venues, in France, the U.S. and more recently, the Museum of Photographic Arts in Japan.