Meryl Spiegel

At the end of Summer 2019, I became inspired to add more to FOUNTAIN PLAY before the autumn chill set in and there would be no more play fountains in the works. On Labor Day Sunday, I left the beach and headed for a place more urban.  Along the East River in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I discovered DOMINO PARK.

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An immersion beyond our visual senses, this series celebrates the universe with sights that continually SPLASH around us. Sights that cascade, intertwine, multiply, even vibrate within the environment. Sights we can not see, encompass nor comprehend with the naked eye.

Scattered at speeds beyond our imagination, moving exponentially into other dimensions--perhaps into Space--these sights, these phenomena are produced, ironically, by slowing down the shutter speed, the eye of the camera. A metaphor, a warning for what we must do to save our environment, our Earth, ourselves from extinguishing.

Global Warming, Wild Fires, Melting Glaciers, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Tsunamis can also be detected, reflected, contained within SPLASH. Warnings that we need to savor and preserve what we take for granted each moment as we move through our lives here on planet Earth.

Warnings that these sights, these phenomena may become mere memories, simply souvenirs. Warnings that can't be denied…

Inspired by nature and the patterns of life, light and color, these paintings of my immediate surroundings are infused by the belief that if we embrace and trust the universe, it will continue to provide and sustain us.

Sometimes one photographic experience can create a complete series. Upon exiting the Rjiks Museum in Amsterdam in April, 2018, I was drawn to the lightness of being of these children playing in an undulating fountain in the late afternoon light. Fortunately, I was carrying my camera as I urge my students to do…
Fountain Play 1 was awarded an Honorable Mention in the international 2019 Julia Margaret Cameron GALA Awards.

As a photographer, I was trained with film to see light and shadow in reverse like a negative. With my pastels, it’s liberating to portray the figure in that way—-placing the highlights in the shadows and visa versa thus, creating Ribbons in Reverse. These works also allow me to delve deeper into the human psyche than most photographs.

Original works are 20” x 26”. Prints can be custom ordered in a variety of sizes.

Light, the omnipresent energy that supports us— thus supporting all we revere in life and in art .  Ironically for years I shunned sunsets and sunrises as cliche—for tourists, just not interesting enough to me as an artist.

ThIs cynicism, however, was due to my own lack of perspective, not inherent in the subject itself. I had not yet imagined a way to portray its force, it’s strength, its omniscient, fluorescent beauty.

On a recent trip to Costa Rica, where the sun dips down each evening over the Pacific and the entire Playa Guiones community gathers to celebrate the event, I surprised myself. One evening toward the end of my stay, my legs carried me into the surf toting my camera.

There I discovered a way to slow down the sun, elongate its energy and basically stretch out the moment. Now I can savor the sight and bathe in its beauty over and over again… 

Recently I became obsessed with the fluidity of the human form. Applying the same sense of Geometry, Light, Mood and Color that I strive for in my photography, I have developed my own figurative style with pastels that I call FISHNET.

In the midst of the MeToo movement, I hope to empower women to embrace their wisdom, sensuality, and beauty; and to stand up to any outside voices or pressures that may threaten, inhibit or stifle their journey in any way.

As I expand my own creative journey, I continue to explore my spirituality —one that began when I started to practice yoga years ago and deepens as I teach others now. Within these works, moreover, I hope to evoke the kind of human connection and transparency that I value most, but is very difficult to find beyond my artwork.

Original Works measure 20” x 26” or 12” x 16”. Prints can be custom ordered in a range of sizes.

PHANTOMS is a visual commentary exploring how we’re losing touch as we depend more and more on social networks, texting, and email to communicate. With all its glamour, sophistication and convenience, technology is ultimately alienating each one of us.

Instead of promoting human interaction, the converse is taking place. We’re becoming more anxious, isolated, anti-social and yes, lonely and depressed.

Instead of speaking face-to-face or even voice-to-voice, we're coexisting in space without really seeing or knowing one another. We're living in a netherworld…neither here nor there...rarely present. It's as if we're evaporating into another dimension as we yearn for something more.

As I move through life,
human beings seem to be disintegrating.
I see a face here, hear a voice there,
but then they're gone.
Blurred, garbled, disjointed.
They're all around me.
Sometimes I see them, smell them, touch them,
sometimes not.
They walk by,
sometimes we connect for a few moments,
sometimes not.
They pass by in cars, in the mall, in the park, on the street,
sometimes not.
They’re in my heart, my mind,
but mostly on my phone and my computer,
sometimes not.

DREAM is the crossroads of earth, sea, sky, and the imagination. By closing your eyes for just a few moments and having the willingness to slow down, you can then open them and start to see…

A few years ago, I became drawn to the figure and started to envision a world of spirits—partly as a response to the death of my mother. Embracing the circle of life, I began to see figures appearing in nature wherever I looked. Rather than haunting me, they comforted me with their presence and a sense of universal hope.
Incorporating these visions into my photographs by hand with pastels, I produced this series—Looking After Us —as a tribute to the nurturing spirit of my mom, Joan Moskowitz and others I have lost.

This series celebrates the enduring spirit of indigenous women 
in pockets of Latin America whose culture is threatened due to encroaching development. As globalization homogenizes the world, their primitive way of life— their traditional dress, the handiwork and crafts they bring to market— may simply disappear. Moreover, the strength and authenticity they inhabit and exude is likely to be diminished or even eradicated due to commercialization.

My mission was to record these women on film as living artifacts of a bygone era before they change or completely disappear. Many were averse to being photographed; therefore, I approached them slowly and requested permission using hand signals or my pigeon Spanish before pressing the shutter. Oftentimes, they asked for money in exchange, in which case, I purchased a small item for sale. Typically, they allowed me to shoot one or two frames, perhaps three if I was lucky and they didn’t move.

These images celebrate the Landscape of the East End of Long Island where I have lived year-round for thirty years. Classically captured in a square format, they emphasize the Geometry, Shapes and Patterns inherent in my work as well as a sensitivity to Color that transcends Photography.

After the attack on the World Trade Center, I spent time roaming Manhattan, MAKING CONTACT with strangers on walkways and in public spaces. Relishing the rare spontaneity of interacting with people through my lens, I later realized it was an effort to ward off an increasing sense of alienation as the world changed and technology began to replace human contact.

Wandering throughout the city, I recorded strangers absorbed in daily activities: working, playing, waiting for a bus, sightseeing, or just passing the time. In the process, I observed that the more immersed people are in the moment, the more they harmonize with their environment. Also, the longer I waited and watched them, the more comfortable they became with me and my camera.

Sometimes, I encountered a scene that presented the perfect picture; other times I was drawn to an interesting face, situation or detail and had to wait for an image to emerge. Regardless, all the subjects are strangers; none were staged or posed.

Unlike many street photographers who render Manhattan gritty in black & white using lightweight equipment, I chose a classic, painterly approach by exposing on color film and hand-holding a medium-format camera. With finer optics and grain, the Hasselblad also provides square format enhancing the geometric symmetry inherent in her work. Moreover, the camera’s bulk forced me to slow down and study people as I approached them.

There are a total of 30 images in MAKING CONTACT with narratives available telling the story of how contact was made.

In my Workshops, my mission is to encourage Students to express their own vision through photography. No matter what camera they possess, I hope to impart them with the visual tools, language, confidence and openness to enable them to explore and ultimately find their unique visual voice.

Here in this gallery, I’m proud to display Student Images taken on assignment during a variety of Workshops and Field Trip outings. The Student’s name and the Workshop/Field Trip is noted in the caption below each image