{the eloquence of the everyday...}

“Hi…I’m Gabor!”

That’s how it happened. That’s how one of Canada’s great photographers introduced himself to me! He just walked up to the table that I was sitting at…reached his hand out and said “Hi…I’m Gabor!”

So humble. So modest. So friendly.

Gabor Szilasi, who has contributed over fifty years of photographic work, once said:

“Everything is constantly changing around us: what my camera captures at this moment is already of the past. That is why it is important to me to record the world as I see it today through photography. I am not interested in the past or the future: I am interested in the present. Through the photographic image, I can directly record the signs of the past and the future as they appear in this moment.”

Ahhh, a photographer after my own heart!

As I watched the media follow him around as he gave a guided tour of his new exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, I couldn’t help wonder what it must be like to have photography be your entire life’s work…to walk into an exhibition space one day and see 124 of your images outline the very essence of your career?

As a largely self-taught photographer himself, I wanted nothing more than to just steal him away and ask “how did you do it? Tell me your secret!” But I didn’t. I just watched as our invited guests stood around him completely fascinated as he passionately described the context behind some of his most well-known images and the quiet secrets behind some of his never before seen images.

After all this time, you can tell there is still quite the intimate love affair occurring between him and his camera!

I’ll admit, I was reluctant to leave the room and head back to my every day life…I mean, what fun is that when you can just stand next to brilliant photographers and hope to obtain their knowledge by osmosis?!?! That’s far more appealing if you ask me!

But at long last, everyone has to return from Neverland eventually! So sad, I know! But to keep the excitement and appreciation going, I encourage all of you to check out the amazing exhibition The Eloquence of the Everyday: Gabor Szilasi, on view at the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography from 9 October 2009 until 17 January 2010.

Anyone who just reaches out and says “Hi…I’m Gabor” certainly deserves our support!