In Good Light

In spring of 2007 Roger Eberhard photographed people who had lost their jobs and were homelessand in the process formed relationships manifest in the portraits

To be perceived, to be the way you want to be perceived, to recognize yourself through the perception of othersthat is what nourishes dignity.Bernard Schlink

Swiss-born photographer Roger Eberhard's (1984) series of images In Good Light*, which comprises dozens of thoughtful portraits of people affected by homelessness, has particular relevance in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and in the midst of the ongoing economic turmoil. In spring of 2007 Eberhard, then a student at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, encountered a vast number of people, many of whom had suddenly lost their jobs and were living in their cars or on the street. He invited them into his studio to be photographedand in the process formed relationships that are evident in the portraits. Eberhard's entire series of photographs is now held in the permanent collection of Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

In Good Light shows a sensitive and respectful approach to difficult situations of life and features impressive personalities who have maintained their dignity and self-respect despite the struggle of living on the edge of society. Eberhard's images are complemented in this book by an introduction from curator Karen Sinsheimer and a literary essay by the celebrated German novelist Bernhard Schlink.

«Die einfühlsamen Porträts dokumentieren selbstständige und eigenwillige Persönlichkeiten, die ihre Menschenwürde bewahrt haben und Kraft ausstrahlen, obwohl die diffizile Realität deutliche Spuren hinterlassen hat.» Gregor Auenhammer, Der Standard

«In Good Light invites us to look at people we usually tend to ignore. Spending time with these photographs brought homeless people in the streets to mind. I had looked at them in passing and briefly wondered how they lived. However, I hadn't paid as much attention to them as I had to these photographs.» Hans Durrer, http://durrer-intercultural.blogspot.com

«Hier spricht in jedem Bild die Härte der Platte, aber es wird auch erzählt von Menschen und Tiefgang. Das ist anziehend. Genial nicht nur im Porträt auch diese unglaublich gekonnte Inszenierung!» www.librifex.de

Autorentext

Roger Eberhard, born 1984 in Zurich, graduated in photography from the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA, in 2007. He lives and works as free-lance photographic artist in Berlin and Zurich. Karen Sinsheimer has been curator of the department of photography at Santa Barbara Museum of Art since 1992. Bernhard Schlink, born 1944, has been a professor of public law and philosophy of law at the universities of Bonn and Frankfurt on the Main and at the Humboldt Universitat Berlin 1882-2009. For many years he has also been a writer of novels and short stories. His novel The Reader (1995) has been translated into 39 languages and became a no.1 bestseller also in the UK.

Klappentext

Durch die Wirtschaftskrise verloren in den vergangenen Jahren viele Menschen in den USA ihre Arbeit und damit ihr Zuhause. Auch im kalifornischen Santa Barbara, wo der in Zürich geborene Fotograf Roger Eberhard am Brooks Institute of Photography studiert hat, waren plötzlich nicht mehr nur Randständige ohne Dach über dem Kopf, sondern auch Menschen, die nie damit gerechnet hatten. 2007 sprach Eberhard mehrere Obdachlose auf der Strasse an und bat sie in ein Fotostudio, wo er sie - oft erst nach langen Gesprächen - porträtierte. In Good Light ist das Resultat dieser sensiblen Annäherung an die teils unverschuldete, teils selbst gewählte, in jedem Fall harte Lebenssituation. Die 30 sorgfältig fotografierten Porträts zeigen eigensinnige Persönlichkeiten, die ihre Würde bewahrt haben und Kraft ausstrahlen, obwohl die schwierige Existenz deutliche Spuren hinterlassen hat. Das Santa Barbara Museum of Art zeigt ab Juni 2011 Roger Eberhards Porträts in einer Einzelausstellung. Im Vorfeld erscheint das Buch In Good Light mit einer Einführung von Karen Sinsheimer, Kuratorin für Fotografie des Museums, und einem Text des Schriftstellers Bernhard Schlink. Von einem persönlichen Erlebnis und den Porträts ausgehend, beschäftigt sich Schlink mit der Würde der Obdachlosen.