Press the image above to see Brian Lav “Visions” video (with sound).
A professor at parsons in nyc since 1974. Brian lav is recognized as a prominent contemporary photographer, a master printer, and exceptional educator.
Brian Lav has been photographing and teaching since 1969. He has received many awards and fellowships including a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Grant and the prestigious Teaching Excellence award from Parsons School of Design in New York City. Mr. Lav has had over forty-five one-man and group exhibits and his work is represented in permanent collections including: The International Center for Photography, The Rochester Institute of Technology, The New Jersey State Museum, The Newark Museum, and The Museum of Art and History in Fribourg, Switzerland. His work has been widely exhibited and published in many books and magazines including: MANHATTAN, THE PLATINUM PRINT, THE PHOTOGRAPHED CAT, and AMERICA’S WORKING MAN. Currently Lav is working on two new books, one titled THE FINE BLACK & WHITE PRINT, which is the sequel to his first book ZONE SYSTEM and the other book titled ALEXANDRIA, a collection of photographs documenting the first sixteen years of his daughters life.
Personal Background
I WAS NINE YEARS OLD when a Kodak darkroom kit given to me by my parents planted the seed of what would later become my life’s passion. Seeing an image slowly appear on a blank sheet of paper in a tray of liquid was magic. Even the darkened room with only a faint yellow glow from the safelight had its wonder. I was sidetracked for the next several years growing up with the aimless direction of an adolescent. Graduated college in 1969 with a degree in economics but had no desire to pursue a career in business. Putting off having to get a job, I ventured on a cross-country trip, with a borrowed Nikon camera. This turned out to be a life changing event, it reacquainted me with photography. A camera has a special power and it made me feel important. Behind the lens I found a direction. My formal training as a photographer began with Lou Bernstein, an old “Photo- Leaguer”. Lou’s emphasis was on the content of a photograph. I started to understand photography as an art and myself as an artist. My involvement in photography grew as I explored other styles and philosophies with the help of museums, galleries and books. It was during this period of discovery; I encountered the west coast school of photography. Their photographs were grand and spectacular and their technique was unbelievable. In 1972, I traveled to the west and was presented with the opportunity to study with some of the west coast masters. I left the West Coast and returned to New Jersey with my head spinning. The west coast emphasis on technique improved the quality of my photographs and their poetic choice of subject matter added range to my vision.
WHAT CRITIcS AND PEERS HAVE SAID
In Mr. Lav’s pictures, there are seemingly two photographers at work. One produces gentle, meditative prints and the other, although no less contemplative, works on a more heroic Scale. - Vivien Raynor The New York Times
What will undoubtedly soon be recognized as one of the quintessential New Jersey images is Lav’s photograph of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad station in Hoboken. - Mitchell Seidel The Star-Ledger
A young photographer influenced by George Tice and his classical approach to photography is Brian Lav. Lav has probably done more to promote photography than any other photographer in New Jersey. His study of an old man seated looking out a window, a paper lying on his lap, a delicate vase of flowers resting near him on the window sill, is perfection. - Rachel Mullen The Bernardsville News
His Hoboken Train Station plays tricks with our perceptions. Its’ beauty belies the harsh reality of being in Hoboken on a cold winter day. What unifies his photographs is not so much place but mood, a nocturnal mood - the vision of Lav... - George Tice , Introduction to the portfolio – LAV
Brian Lav creates urban landscapes which depend heavily on the dramatic interplay of light and shadow. There is an eerie quality to his work and the few pictures which include people portray them in a ghostly, other-worldly fashion. Even the photograph of his Sofa seems as if it is waiting for a chance to star in bloody horror film. - Mike Schnessel, The Trentonian