A & E

It's funny how photographs become the markers of our memories. Over time they add up to more than just stark records of time, people and place and instead become portals to the past, causing one to conjure up more than mere images.

So it seems only fitting that Brooklyn, N.Y.-based artist Joan Linder dove into family photographs to create the body of work she named "118-60 Metropolitan Street" after the address of the apartment of her grandparents, postwar Eastern European Jewish immigrants who live in Queens, N.Y.

Large-scale oil paintings all, they started out as paintings of candid family snapshots, mostly black and white, that were taken at various family functions that occurred at the residence over several years. But in Linder's capable hands, the imagery became something more, both for the artist and her audience.

That's obvious when walking through the display of more than 20 works in the Fine/Perlow and Weis Gallery of the American Jewish Museum at the Jewish Community Center, Squirrel Hill. When looking at these wonderful works, one can easily connect with what the artist was trying to accomplish.

Through exploring co-generational relationships in her family, she has tapped into something universal: the day-to-day reality of aging, which she captures with equal amounts poignancy, pathos and aplomb.

"The paintings are not only about family get-togethers, when the cameras came out, but it's also about Joan's memories and trying to understand her grandparents," says David Stanger, museum director.

That explains why nearly all of the images are of one or the other grandparent captured during the in-between moments of family functions. In "Sam," her grandfather is depicted alone, standing at the dining room table, cast in a solemn glow by a dimly lighted chandelier. In "Fanny," the viewer is presented only with the back of Linder's grandmother, her floral print housecoat a dominant presence, as she works in the kitchen preparing food.

The latter work is one of only a few paintings fleshed out in full color. Most are painted in black and white, much like the photographs that were their source. But in some, however, the artist uses color sparingly in specific areas for emphatic force.

That's most definitely the case with "Green Anna," which depicts the artists' aunt and uncle sitting rather nonchalantly in the living room. Only Linden's Aunt Anna is painted in color, her green sweater casting a vibrant glow, in turn drawing attention to the most unusual scowl on her face.

Then there is "Elijah's Cup" -- the only work in which the artist depicts herself. Here, Linder, alone at the dining room table, is drinking from a glass of wine. Her sideward glance at the goings-on in the kitchen behind her projects the notion that she is sneaking a sip from the glistening red cup between courses at Passover dinner -- a tender cross-generational moment that is both a bit mischievous and touching, therein proving Linder's remarkable ability to move beyond her mere photographic sources.

Stanger became aware of Linder's work through The National Foundation for Jewish Culture, which together with Ronnie Heyman, awarded the first annual Ronnie Heyman Prize for an Emerging Jewish Visual Artist to Linder for the series in 2003.

The award recognizes the need to support and nurture emerging visual artists who create work that reflects the Jewish experience. And although this body of work most certainly fits that criteria, Stanger insists that anyone should be able to relate to these works in one way or another.

"In some ways I think they are really psychological snapshots," Stanger says. "She takes the images and chooses what she wants to paint. They're designed. They're not just painted from a snapshot. The process of invention is part of it too."

Some works take this notion to extremes. For example, cropped close-ups are laid out in long, horizontal formats, as if slices of life portrayed in strata form.

In "Dancing Feat" all the viewer is presented with is half a dozen sets of legs and shoes. In "Grandmas I and II" all the viewer sees is lips and laps, respectively. And in "Coney Island" we get just a glimpse of a family enjoying themselves at the beach.

"Part of this project is to communicate personality through gesture without showing the face. That's a big part of choosing this horizontal format," Stanger says.

Although this body of paintings depicts Linder's family specifically, the experiences are very American middle class. Thus, it is likely that most viewers will see their own families and find their own memories and experiences running parallel to the vision expressed in Linder's work. That, in turn, is what makes this exhibition so compelling, and one to definitely catch before it comes down on July 15.

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