Bob Haft

Bob Haft

November 4-27, 1999

My photographic work deals largely with issues that perpetually intrigue me. One of these is simply that inner lives of children as it is expressed through their play. For the past sixteen years I have kept of sort of “visual diary” of my own kids’ activities, trying to capture as honestly as possible their experiences. Over time the work has evolved like play can be, but of how much work it is! I see these photos as an antidote to the plethora of images which fictionalize and trivialize childhood by ignoring its serious nature.

Another of my interest is in the acquisition and use of new languages, both visual and verbal. The diptychs are from a recent body of work entitled “Cote-a-Cote” and they deal with my experiences dealing with language barriers I have encountered in my 30-year struggle to learn to speak French and to learn to see in new ways. They reflect the notion that in learning a new language we constantly yet unconsciously impose on the world a matrix (again, visual or verbal) through which we attempt to make sense of it. From me, they also serve as reminders of the joys of being visually overwhelmed.