Albert Maysles Photographs, 1955-1959
Louise and Bernard Palitz Gallery
Syracuse University Lubin House
August 22- September 30, 2005

An alumnus of Syracuse University, Albert Maysles ('49) may be best known for his 'direct cinema' films including Salesman, Grey Gardens, and a series of films on the artwork of artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. But in the mid 1950s, before he had made a name for himself as a filmmaker, Albert took several trips to Europe where he photographed life on both sides of the 'Iron Curtain.' This is an exhibition of his still photography taken during his journeys to Turkey, Poland, Russia, and Yugoslavia. Many of the photographs have never been on public display.

Albert Maysles was called the 'Dean' of documentary filmmaking by the New York Times in May, 2002 and was recognized as one of the 100 most important cinematographers by Eastman Kodak. This year, 2005, Albert is celebrating his fiftieth year of making films.

Introduction

When Albert Maysles attended Syracuse University in the late 1940s he studied Psychology. Like many of his classmates, Albert had also returned from the war and was using the GI Bill to help offset the expenses of college. Albert recalled his years at Syracuse as "exciting, I had some wonderful experiences there, and met some very interesting people." He continued his education at Boston University, where he received a Master's degree in Psychology, and also taught introductory courses in that department.

In the mid 1950s Albert took several trips to Europe where he recorded his visits with a still or motion picture camera. Eventually these experiences convinced him, and his brother David (who joined Albert on the 1957 trip to Poland and Russia) to try their hands at making documentary films. Right from the start Albert and David decided that while the camera may be able to record reality, they, the filmmakers, had to give their viewers a sense that they were part of the moment. An important part of this reality would be achieved without scripts, sets, or voiceover narration. And Albert always reacts negatively to the 'fly on the wall' analogy because he sees the fly as mindless and his camera work is anything but mindless. In fact, Maysles believe that his audience expects him to be aware of what is being recorded, and in a way, trusts that he will see something that the casual viewer may not have noticed.

"As a documentarian I happily place my fate and faith in reality. It is my caretaker, the provider of subjects, themes, experiences - all endowed with the power of truth and the romance of discovery."

Russian Mental Hospitals, 1955-56

In 1955, Albert Maysles obtained a tourist visa to enter the Soviet Union, the last place most Americans were heading during the Cold War, and without much planning began his career in filmmaking. Before leaving for this adventure Albert visited Life magazine offices in New York City and pitched his ideas about photo-documenting mental hospitals in Russia. The magazine format would lend itself to photographs but when Albert saw a CBS sign, he thought "maybe I should go there, and if they could lend me a movie camera, I would take a movie camera into the mental hospitals and do a story."

With no training he borrowed a wind-up Keystone 16mm camera (no sound) from CBS with the understanding that they would process all the film he took during his trip in return for rights to use any part of the film. Upon his return, CBS developed the film but decided to use very little of it. Albert then approached WGBH in Boston and asked to use their editing equipment to make his first film, Psychiatry in Russia. While working on the final version, a 15 minute film drawn from more than 50 minutes of footage, Albert was approached by a pharmaceutical company executive who offered to buy copies of the film to circulate among it client doctors. After the film was finished, a short segment from it was aired on the Today show with Dave Galloway.

The still photographs of Russian mental hospitals were taken in 1955 and 1956.

Sleep, 1956

Since the 1950s Albert has been attracted by the visual dynamics of people at rest or sleeping. This series of photographs taken during a summer trip to Eastern Europe looks particularly at travelers who were asleep in public places, during long journeys, and completely at the mercy of the train schedule.

Children, 1956-59

Children were often the subject of Albert's work during his visits to Eastern Europe. His disarming personality and youth (Albert was in his late 20s) may have helped them to feel comfortable with this foreigner in their presence. It is a trait that would serve Albert well when he began to shoot his 'direct cinema' films.

Turkey, 1957

Maysles took a trip through Turkey with Charles Dee Sharpe who wanted to trace the path of St. Paul through that country. Albert's photographs beautifully capture an exotic quality of this large and diverse country.

Russia
1956-1959

"I was, as so many people were then, fed up with Russia from the 50s American political point of view."

Americans who remember the 1950s and the cold war that was raging between the United States and the Soviet Union probably have a preconceived notion of what life must have like in that totalitarian society. The actions of our governments and the media reinforced the perceptions that we were two entirely different societies with diametrically opposed views of the world. Soviet actions in Hungary and Poland to suppress activities that the West had labeled as 'freedom movements,' seemed to further the gap between our two societies. American and Soviet testing of their nuclear weaponry, the buildup of arms, and the overthrow of governments around the globe, further added to the tensions of the period. It was in this environment that Albert Maysles traveled through Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to photo-document aspects of contemporary life in those countries he visited.

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