Daniel Efram: Finding images on the edges
BY BOB KRASNER
‘I’m not documenting a broad pastiche
of America,” said photographer
Daniel Efram, perhaps
referencing the classic work of Robert
Frank.
The images in his fi rst monograph,
“Curiosities,” (Tractor Beam Press) are
a collection of intriguing, grainy blackand
white photos that invoke some classic
work by his predecessors, which he
readily acknowledges.
“You can’t do this without Frank,
Cartier-Bresson, Brassai, William
Klein,” he said. “But this book is a fantasy
— a fi ctional 24 hours of my life.”
The book’s 60 images were shot over
a four-year period. Half of them were
taken in New York City — many in the
East Village, where he resides. The rest
were shot “somewhere in the Northern
Hemisphere.”
Shooting digitally with vintage, manual
focus lenses, Efram fi nds odd moments
that are open to interpretation.
“I hope that the images invoke a larger
story for the people who view them,”
Efram said.
Odd moments abound in the collection.
Shot consistently in low light, even
the daytime images have the feeling of
fi lm noir, which was Efram’s goal. Not
only are they open to interpretation by
the viewer, but the artist gets something
from them, as well.
“These photos talk to me — they tell
me their secrets,” he said.
After taking the photos over four
years, it took a year to edit the book.
With the help of co-editor Nicole Blackman,
750 images were whittled down
into the fi nal product.
Shot with a sense of humor as well
as purpose, Efram’s photos document
moments on the periphery that one
might pass by and barely register. Some
scenes feel both normal and odd at the
An untitled image from Daniel Efram’s new photo book “Curiosities.”
same time, invoking a desire to fi ll in
the blanks as to what is going on in the
images.
Efram, who previously worked in the
music industry, has no training in photography.
“When I left the music business, I
threw myself into photography,” he
said. “This was my own independent
MFA study — the book is my thesis.”
A multimedia book launch for
Efram’s “Curiosities” was held at Howl!
Happening gallery, at 6 E. First St., on
Wed., April 17.
For more information, visit eframphotography.
com/
PHOTO BY DANIEL EFRAM
PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER
Daniel Efram shooting at Otto’s Shrunken Head in March.
212 - 254 - 1109 | www.theaterforthenewcity.net | 155 First Ave. NY, NY 10003
THE SON of THE SUN
Written & Directed by
Michael Vazquez
Thu - Sat 8PM, Sun 3PM
May 4 - May 19
The Lower East Side
Festival of the Arts
May 24, 25 & 26 6PM - 1AM
Theater, Music, Dance
Film, Cabaret, Poetry,
Knock It OFF!
Written & D irected by
Peter Zachari
Thu - Sat 8PM, Sun 3PM
May 2 - May 19
30 May 2, 2019 TVG Schneps Media
/www.theaterforthenewcity.net