David Alan Harvey thrives on what you bring to him, not on what you take from him. Interpretations of his photographs—moments of intimate family life caught in vibrant, often violent expression—depend on how you perceive intimacy, or family, or violence. His blog (davidalanharvey.typepad.com) functions more like a chaise lounge for photographers than a personal journal, a stream of comments on natural lighting and objectivity from neurotic lensheads. Now, for a few lucky guests at this year’s Festival of the Photograph, Harvey will offer his services as a psychotherapist for photophiles.
This year, LOOK3 offers a trio of workshops before the festival from June 7-12 featuring Harvey, his longtime friend William Albert Allard and Eugene Richards, who was one of last year’s three featured artists. Harvey’s workshop, which will combine critical input with assignments geared towards creating a photo essay, carries an overview on the LOOK3 website (www.festivalofthephotograph.com) that reads like a sort of disclaimer: “There are always growing pains in my classes, because I will tell you the truth about you and about your work…I owe you an honest appraisal.”
 Making a scene: Photographers William Albert Allard (pictured) and David Ala Harvey will offer workshops as part of this year’s Festival of the Photograph. |
And honest appraisals lead to honest artists. “It’s better if [a photographer] can key off something in their lives,” says Harvey in a phone interview with Curtain Calls. “Most artists, conceptual or bearing witness, seem to do better when they look in the mirror. Otherwise, you’re being a technician.” In Harvey’s eyes—the pair of viewfinders that snapped shots of multi-family homes in Havana, Cuba, and shared a slum house with a Norfolk, Virginia, family for his first book—your reasons for taking his workshop ought to be as personal as his reasons for teaching it.
“I don’t tell [photographers] what to do,” says Harvey in a recent phone interview. “Everyone’s logical next step is a little bit different.”
Harvey brings his own personal imperatives to his work. He attributes his interest in teaching to his mother, a school teacher. His current project, a demographic survey of the United States through family portraits, originates from a photo album he assembled at age 14 as a Christmas gift for his grandparents in 1958. Following the recent death of his brother, Harvey took photos of his family at a memorial gathering in Colorado then headed back to Virginia, where he began documenting families in Richmond and Virginia Beach.
“I started with friends of my family, then friends of friends,” Harvey tells Curtain Calls. “Through pure serendipity, I should be able to move anywhere.” LOOK3 announced last week that Harvey’s portrait project, titled “Off For a Family Drive,” will be exhibited on June 14 as part of the festival.
Harvey is no stranger to Charlottesville; he rolled through town a few weeks ago to take pictures of local clans for “Family Drive,” and is a friend of fellow workshop leader Allard, who supported his work while Harvey was a graduate student at the University of Missouri. In fact, Allard visited Harvey in New York City in March and answered questions from readers of Harvey’s blog, taking over for the photo-therapist for a night while catching up.
“We usually get together and have a beer,” says Harvey of Allard. “As my son says, ‘You two talk about the same things you’ve talked about for 25 years.’” Just like family.
Tech talk
Fast forward a few days: Curt shares this comment with Allard over beers at Miller’s before First Friday this month. The locally based photographer softly laughs, then lifts his Samuel Adams to the space above his crisp blue blazer and beneath his tan hat for a mighty swig. CC then asks Allard about how he felt answering questions on Harvey’s blog.
“At home,” Allard says by way of reply, “I’ve got dial-up.”
Allard plans to focus his workshop on cityscapes; “Not lush, rolling greenery and fences,” he says. Instead, students will “focus on the graphics of urban landscapes, inside or outside.”
It’s a different type of workshop for Allard, who has taught in Cuba, Italy and Maine in recent years and tends to stay relatively rural in his subjects, although he recently spent time shooting in New York City’s garment district for a National Geographic story. Curt is concerned; this could make for a lot of Downtown Mall-spanning shots of tourists in fanny packs and flip-flops.
“It’s about how well they use the space, not just the people in it,” Allard tells Curt, then paraphrases the poet James Dickey, something about the writer taking 100 drafts to get a poem right, and another 50 to make it sound spontaneous. “That’s what this kind of assignment is—opening yourself to spontaneity.”
Curt asks Allard if, spontaneity aside, he believes the process of workshopping a photographer is a beneficial one. “If they really get involved, yes—if there’s exchange,” he answers. “You’ve gotta have a sense of humor.” We sip our beers and, from our perch beneath the awning at Miller’s, watch the Mall traffic.
A fellow from a neighboring table leans over and asks Allard if he’s seen “one of these,” and passes him a digital camera while singing the machine’s praises. Allard raises the camera to his eye a few times and points it at Curt, then lowers it and looks again.
“Electronic viewfinders? I hate those.”
Do you want to take Curt’s picture? How about sending him art news? E-mail curtain@c-ville.com.
