Your Ah Haa Moment: "Another Face of Islam"

08 Feb Your Ah Haa Moment: "Another Face of Islam"

[click “Play” to listen to Susan’s conversation with Jeff Elliott]

Minor White was a major American photographer. Just how good, how influential is evidenced in the work of one of his former students. Jeff Elliott’s moving show, “Another Face of Islam,” is on display in the Daniel Tucker Gallery at Telluride’s Ah Haa School for the Arts.

In Minor White’s perspective one does not photograph something simply for “what it is”, but “for what else it is.” In creating his series of images of the Islamic world, Telluride local Jeff Elliott claims to have abandoned any notions of photo-documentation, choosing instead to use his eye to capture the “depth and serenity of the Islamic faith.” Not what Islam is, but all that it is in form, spirit, light and the influence of the Muslim world.

Put another way, like White’s images, Elliott’s photographs are not about record keeping. Not about a “Kodak moment.” They are as interpretative, magical and powerful as any abstract painting. And just as capable of delivering a gut punch – albeit with a velvet glove.

If by identifying student with teacher, we’ve given the impression that Jeff Elliott is simply a variation on the theme of Minor White, let’s debunk that idea right here, right now. The artist is sui generis.

Years before he apprenticed with White in the late-1960s, Elliott had adapted the idea of a series as a means of individualizing and adding depth and breath to his subjects.

“In this searching for the essence of each story, I have reconciled each image to reflect my basic theme.”

He is also a painter and graphic artist.

To learn more about Jeff Elliott and his work, click the “play” button and listen to our interview with the artist.