NAT FINKELSTEIN : From One Extreme To the Other
20th Jan – 14th Feb

Wednesday night saw the private view of photographer Nat Finkelstein’s retrospective at the Idea Generation Gallery in Shoreditch.
Although Nat Finkelstein is hailed as one of the most respective photojournalists of modern times, he will mostly be recognised for the images he took during the two years of his life which he spent documenting the goings on in Andy Warhol’s Factory.  I also saw this notion reflected in the set up of the exhibition: the main focus being on the iconic images of Edie Sedgwick, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bob Dylan, Nico, the Velvet Undergound and other familiar Factory faces. The whole on the night was being supported by the lazy tones of Lou Reed singing about ‘shiny shiny, shiny boots of leather’.
Besides being a prolific photographer Nat also dedicated a lot of his time writing down his memoirs. His thoughts and recollections support the images on the wall and they paint an even more vivid picture of the time, it hints at a fraught relationship with Andy Warhol and his social commentary shines through even more than the pictures do.
I would have loved to see more of the life Finkelstein led as political activist (his association with The Black Panthers saw him exiled from America) or his explorations of social extremes. These images seem a little bit sidelined in favour of the ‘crowd pleasers’. But thinking this, upon leaving the gallery my glance was suddeny caught by an intimate black and white picture near the exit of Andy sitting next to Edie, looking straight into the lens. To me it is a raw portrayal of fragility which suddenly made me feel sad. In Finkelstein’s own words:
“When all is said and done, when everything is gone, the photograph is what’s going to remain. The photographer is the producer of history.”
And this exhibition provides a unique glance into an era of extremes, with some cutting insight, yet gentle intimacy leaving the viewer with a slight sensation of having been an eye witness.

Words: Meg Van Heck