LONNIE SCHLEIN: The Artist Behind the Photographer
by Michelle LaRiviere, Exhibition Curator
I met Lonnie Schlein and his wife, Monique, in the sunny dining room of the Admiral Palace Hotel one morning in September 2010. I was in Italy for an international exhibition at the Chianciano Museum where three of my works were featured. As luck would have it, the only other guests from the exhibition staying at the hotel were the five jurors for the event, Mr. Schlein being one, and the Maître d’ was very particular about the seating arrangements in his establishment. The museum “group” was given its own table by the windows of the garden—and that’s where we gathered daily for the duration of the exhibition, getting to know each other over delicious Italian cuisine.
While in Europe, my mission was to find an interesting artist that I could invite to North Bay to exhibit at the WKP Kennedy Gallery. Although the idea was initially to select one of my co-exhibitors, I quickly became intrigued with my new friends—the jurors themselves. Among them was Gerald Bruneau, a French portrait photographer who had worked with Andy Warhol at the Factory; Zoltan Nagy, a Hungarian master of black and white film photography; and Lonnie Schlein, a respected photo-editor from The New York Times. Ultimately, I chose Mr. Schlein because I thought a photographer of his caliber would be a good fit for North Bay, and I suspected that his exhibition would generate a lot of excitement in the community. To my surprise, he accepted the invitation.
Editing the World is undeniably a stunning collection of photographs, however we cannot discuss the work without first considering the mind and the eye behind the camera. Upon meeting him, one senses immediately that Lonnie Schlein is a delightfully unassuming individual who naturally puts everyone he comes into contact with at ease. Perhaps this comes from his thirty-five plus years dealing with people and complex situations at The Times, but more accurately, it is a testament to his genuine love of, and interest in people.
This is most evident in Libyan Man and his Camel, where a smiling man in white robes beams at the viewer. Schlein is a generous story-teller, and speaks fondly of his friend Hussein Rahil, the man with the camel that he befriended while traveling in the Derj area of Libya. He also tells the remarkable story of the Masai women, in The Women of Umoja, who left their abusive men to form their own women’s village in northern Kenya where he spent some time. They too seem quite at ease in front of Schlein’s camera.
When viewing this exhibition of photographs, it becomes obvious that Schlein is not interested in tourist destinations. Although he has traveled extensively, he prefers going off the beaten track and is especially attracted to remote locations where he invests time in getting to know the people he is visiting, and he never pulls out his camera equipment until he is satisfied that everyone is relaxed. This enables him to capture what he is most after—the soul, or the true and universal spirit of people in all corners of the world. The resulting intimacy reveals “real people with experiences, troubles, and joys” all of which are palpably communicated through his photographs. By examining the “other,” and breaking down prejudicial barriers that perpetuate harmful stereotypes, Schlein highlights the humanity of people everywhere—a humanity which unites us all on the most basic level.
Schlein’s interest and curiosity is broad, and his camera lens often strays beyond the personal. Nothing about a Schlein scene is constructed. Serendipity, along with a pure artistic sensibility honed through decades of photo-editing has trained his eye to see beauty and composition in the everyday. For example, the display of colourful paper umbrellas in Luang Prabang, Laos, or the bather seated by a modern pool juxtaposed with centuries-old architecture in the background in Bathing in Warsaw, Poland, certainly project a sensitive eye. Schlein is reluctant to call himself an artist, but his pictures tell a different story.
Whatever the subject, Editing the World is the culmination of years of observing and capturing the candid moment, whether it be the view from a misty mountain, a visit to a remote village, or a striking arrangement of colour and shapes. It’s been a thrill and an honour to work with Mr. Schlein, and especially having the opportunity to bring him to North Bay where the community has tangibly expressed its excitement at his coming to our city.
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