The Genius of Max Waldman
By Lucille Tortora , Curator of the Fine Arts Museum of Long Island. USA
Max Waldman focused his
medium, photography, on the nude, the actor and the dancer, with a palette
of texture, form and light. He photographed a vision that remains in our
mind after his images are no longer before our eyes. Many influences
contributed to his visionary world. Images at once dramatic, melancholic ,
despairing and tormented, are rooted in his favorite artists; Bosch, Goya,
Daumier and Rembrandt. Yet these images take life form the Renaissance,
Shakespeare and the classical music he loved.
Photo:
Experimental Nude by Waldman, 1970.
In the mid 60's , Max Waldman
gave up working as a commercial photographer. Friends Morris Carnovsky,
Marcel Marceau and Zero Mostel became his first subjects. Waldman moved
into a cramped studio on 17th street in Manhattan which he described as "a
thimble of space, 15 feet by 18 feet with a ceiling ten feet high, lights
and white walls". In this space he started on his quest to photograph
"only what I wanted". To describe Max Waldman as theatrical gives us
insight into his choices of theater and dance pieces. His attraction to
avant garde theater, to the depiction of the darker side of life, is
easily seen in the 1966 photographs of Peter Weiss' The Persecution and
Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as performed by the Inmates of the Asylum
of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade. The play, about a
French asylum and the madness within, was a perfect vehicle for him. His
style, grainy texture, dramatic light and dark shadows enhance the moment.
The space surrounding the figures becomes as important an element as the
figures themselves.
Photos above: 1- ROMEO AND
JULIET. Performed by: Gelsey Kirkland and Ivan Nagy. Choreography:
Kenneth McMillian. Production: American Ballet Theatre Photography:
Max Waldman, 1976. 2- CHACONNE: Performed by: Suzanne Farrell and
Peter Martins. Choreography: George Balanchine. Production: New York City
Ballet. Photography: Max Waldman, l976
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