ENTERTAINMENT

'Sacred Places' shows monuments to spiritual deities

Linda Marston-Reid
Special to Poughkeepsie Journal

Kenro Izu is looking back at a successful photographic career that has spanned more than 40 years and acknowledged that it was a fellowship at the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) that launched his career. Izu reflected on the opportunity and admitted it wasn’t just the money, but the importance of the professional encouragement of CPW’s founder, Howard Greenberg, and connecting him to opportunities to develop his photographic practice.

Varanasi is a central place in India for funeral rituals in this photograph by Kenro Izu.

 

This month Izu displays a selection of his photography series "Sacred Places," which has been internationally exhibited. The exhibit is up at Aaron Rezny Gallery in Kingston and is organized by CPW, with a portion of sales to benefit the photography center's programming.

ART FROM HERE: 'Yoga: The Secret of Life' explores 'human origami'

Izu uses a large-format camera favored by 19th-century photographers, stating that, “It captures air and the subtle nuances of tonality in platinum printing.” The 14-inch by 20-inch custom-made camera was purchased with funding he received from an NEA grant in 1984. Despite weighing 300 pounds, the camera has traveled with him during his photographic explorations, creating the platinum palladium contact prints that are included in this exhibit.

"Kanchipuram #638," by  Kenro Izu, depicts the interior of a sacred space in India.

 

The photographer has traveled the world seeking out the places that are sacred to people, including areas of Tibet, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and India. Izu explained that he first traveled to Egypt in the 1970s and discovered he was especially drawn to the stone monuments. This has led to his photographing a number of places most would call the "Seven Wonders of the World," including Stonehenge, Machu Picchu and Chichén Itzá.

A carved stone temple in Trichi, India, is featured in this photograph by Kenro Izu.

While traveling in Hampi, India, Izu came upon a sight that he captured in "Vijayanager #15." The elaborate shrine-like structure was built on a massive stone, designating a sacred place reachable by rock climbing. The contrast between the giant rock and the detailed architectural structure is surprising. In another human touch, the base of the stone has been patched to ensure its continued stability. In the image "Kanchipuram #638," the photographer has placed himself within a sacred space on a pathway with the deity directly ahead. In the shrine’s low interior light, viewers can observe carved stone columns receding into the distance along a pathway alight with devotional fires.  

In "Ladakh #49," captured in Ramayuru Gompa, India, the photographer uses the light across the mountains to highlight the sacred temple built on a hill surrounded by a small village. Capturing the last light of the day, the spectacular shadows encircle the sacred place in a series of gradations, creating an abstracted composition of darks and lights.

Izu travels to and focuses on a region, becoming familiar with the local customs from there; he awaits inspiration to discover the sacred places. As his travels took him to the far reaches within Cambodia and Laos, he was moved by the children’s dire health conditions. On his return to New York Izu founded a charitable foundation, Friends Without a Border, that built a free pediatric hospital in Cambodia in order to give back to the people who have inspired his photographic journey.

Linda Marston-Reid is an artist, writer, and executive director of Arts Mid-Hudson. The column appears every other week in Enjoy! Contact her at 845-454-3222 or lmr@artsmidhudson.org

Kenro Izu captured "Vijayanager #15" in Hampi, India.

 

If you go

"Sacred Places," an exhibit of large-format photgraphy by Kenro Izu, is on view at Aaron Rezny Gallery, 76 Prince Street Studios, Kingston. Gallery hours are noon-4 p.m., Saturday-Sunday, and by appointment by calling 1-212-691-1894.

Special event: A gallery talk with Howard Greenberg and Kenro Izu will be held at 2 p.m., Jan. 14.