Deborah Sofferman

Photos

As a native New Yorker, I’m fascinated with looking at people—in buses, restaurants, on the streets and more recently, in galleries and museums. When people look at art, they get caught in an unexpected dialogue with art taking the lead. In the twinkling of the eye a new relationship emerges that is synergistic—wonder, curiosity, concentration, awe, confusion, disturbance and even disdain. 

It’s in that inadvertent moment of naked honesty—the viewer getting caught by the art—that I become most moved with the click of a capture.  It’s only a split-second.  And then it’s gone. Unless…. 

I currently shoot on an iPhone.  I like the immediacy. I always have it with me and am less likely to miss the shot. No longer am I observing through a long or medium lens at a distance as I used to. This intimacy also encourages me to step outside my own comfort zone.  I step forward when I’m tempted to pull back. I cross lines I might not otherwise.  I am bolder. 


When I first discussed this exhibit with the 92nd Street Y to shoot artists at work in the studios, I was inspired to capture the people I see here. This show is the “other hand clapping” to my Instagram museum series #peoplelookingat. Here, we find people looking at their own art. The moments are often subtle. But they’re there, if you’re looking.

The photos are intimate for another reason. As a ceramic artist myself, I understand first-hand the process of being motivated by the desire to actualize an image from within. More often, this is easier said than done.  In these photos, there’s more than the just visual component you see. There’s everything around and behind it: the pull of the artists’ interest to be captured by their art, the obstacles they face in getting to the studio, their willingness to give themselves to the task. And now, for this exhibit, to share themselves…. “Caught in the Art.” 

I’d like to thank the 92nd Street Y, especially, the Art Center for their support, enthusiasm and vision. And I am honored to shine a light on these wonderful artists who freely allowed me to witness their process.