[Leica] Opening Reception Invitation: Leica Gallery, June 23

[jwlee01 at gmail.com (John Lee)]

To the Lug,
This an open invitation for the opening reception for the Erich 
Lessingexhibition at the Leica Gallery.
Cheers,John______________________________________________________________    
                                    ERICH LESSING                            
              Arresting Time:                            Reportage 
Photography 1948-1973                                   24 June - August 6 
2005                         Reception: Thursday, 23 June, 6 - 8 pm          
                          Book-signing with Erich Lessing                    
           Saturday, June 25th, 2 - 4 pm
                Leica Gallery / 670 Broadway / New York City 10012           
  212.777.3051 / Fax 212.777.6960 / leicaphoto@aol.com                       
                 Tues. -  Sat. 12 - 6 
______________________________________________________________"In terms of 
Erich Lessing's range and use of subject matter he is akin toErich Solomon 
(1886-1944) the instigator of the term 'candid camera'. ErichLessing's world 
is a search for meaning amongst the chaos that is life, thefinding of the 
known amongst the unknown? It brings Lessing into anexamination oflife; from 
birth to death, of the idiosyncrasy of the human condition in 
itsmultifarious manifestations and, not least, its need for politics, 
religionand ritual? He identifies with the ordinary, with the fruit of one's 
hand, withthe community of honest toil, identifies with the doer. He 
identifies withthose who have the same work ethic as himself. He is never in 
awe of grandeur?He delights in the joy, exuberance, in the joke, in the 
irony of life. He likespeople for who they are not what they are, rich or 
poor, known or unknown,all have his curiosity for he never ceases to look. 
In Lessing's world peopleplay, and play hard; they laugh and sing and dance 
and make love. They have lotsof children who parade their smiling innocence. 
He is not in any hurry totell them the truth of life; may they never know 
it... But the true influence ofphotography is in its contribution to the 
consciousness of the people, acontribution made over a long period of time." 
? Alistair Crawford,"People Knownand Unknown: The Photography of Erich 
Lessing," Arresting Time: ReportagePhotography 1948-1973 (The Quantuck Lane 
Press, New York, 2005)
Erich Lessing was born in Vienna in 1923 into a middle-class Jewish 
family.His father, a dentist, died in 1933 and, with the rise of National 
Socialism,Lessing fled in December 1939, to Palestine which was under 
British control.Subsequently, his mother, a concert pianist, died in the gas 
chambers ofAuschwitz and his grandmother in Theresienstadt.
Erich Lessing studied at the Haifa Technical College; raised carp and 
troutin a kibbutz; and worked as a taxi-driver, radio mechanic and camera 
salesman.He then returned to his childhood hobby, photography, taking photos 
ofkindergarten children and beach scenes. Finally, he became a 
civilianphotographerwith the Sixth Airborne Division of the British Army.
After the war, in 1947, he returned to Austria and worked as a 
photographerat Associated Press ? he secured his first position there from 
the journalist,Traudl Wiglitzky, whom he later married. Based upon his work 
and hisinternational reputation as a photojournalist, he was recruited by 
David Seymour(Chim), one of the founders of Magnum Photos, into that already 
prestigiousassociation, and, in 1951, with the approval of another 
founder,Robert Capa, Lessingbecame its tenth member. His work regularly 
appeared in LIFE, Paris Match,National Geographic, The New York Times, Quick 
and Heute. After his world-famouscoverage of the Hungarian Revolution of 
1956 ? he stayed there from thebeginning until the terrible end - Lessing 
began to turn to photographic"evocations" of famous historical personalities 
and away fromphotojournalism. It is thepath that he has continued to this 
day, resulting in over 45 books ongeography, history, art and religion.
Lessing has taught photographic workshops throughout the world and was 
aProfessor at the Academy of Applied Art in Vienna. For his seminal work on 
theHungarian Revolution, he was awarded the American Art Editors' Award;in 
1998, hereceived the Imre Nagy Medal bestowed by the President of Hungary. 
Lessinghas also received the French Prix Nadar, the Austrian Dr. Karl Renner 
Award; theSilver and Gold Medals for Outstanding Services to the City of 
Vienna; theGold Medal of the Province of Styria; and the Austrian Great 
State Award forPhotography.
Erich Lessing's 1996 exhibition at Leica Gallery, "The First Fifty 
Years,"was based upon the much larger worldwide traveling exhibition, "Fifty 
Years ofPhotography." This current exhibition is in celebration of a new 
seminalretrospective book on Lessing's photojournalistic work. Signed copies 
of theEnglish edition, Arresting Time: Reportage Photography 1948-1973, 
which has justbeen published by The Quantuck Lane Press (New York, 2005), 
will be availablethroughout the exhibition.
Rose and Jay Deutsch                                   On-site Directors