Amiram Erev

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Amiram Erev, born Jerusalem 1926

I believe that Amiram Erev has been overlooked - he ought to be better known for his work which is fused to the national narrative and yet is independent of it. Perhaps he should be recognized as our first modernist, like Friedlander or Winogrand. The excitement of delving into Amiram Erev's archive is to discover his personal work, to understand that he is a photographer committed to a constant questioning and to problem-solving. He is a...
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Amiram Erev, born Jerusalem 1926

I believe that Amiram Erev has been overlooked - he ought to be better known for his work which is fused to the national narrative and yet is independent of it. Perhaps he should be recognized as our first modernist, like Friedlander or Winogrand. The excitement of delving into Amiram Erev's archive is to discover his personal work, to understand that he is a photographer committed to a constant questioning and to problem-solving. He is a quintessentially Israeli photographer, sure enough of his identity to create a body of work that is stamped with an individuality which rises above the iconography formed by national circumstances. Critic Smadar Sheffi noted Amiram Erev for the drama in his work. Beyond the drama however, there is an intimacy with local culture which comes from being an integral part of it.

A few years ago I was traveling on a bus to the Museum of Israeli Photography at Tel Hai for an opening and was happy to be sitting next to Amiram. He told me, in a confessional tone, that when he turns 80, he will visit his photographs. What does that mean, I asked? "Well, very few people come to see my work and I believe that the photographs feel very lonely. So I will share my birthday with them and tell them that I still find them good companions after all these years." And of course, he is right. His companions are worthy friends, who should be better known to all of us.

At the time of the War of Independence Amiram Erev was 17 years old. He served in the Haganah (pre-State army) and during the War of Independence fought in the Golani Brigade. After active service he worked in the Map Department of the Army. He has also made several films. As an employee of Solel Boneh (a large State construction company) he worked mostly in technical and architectural modes from the early 1950s to the end of the 80s, although his archive is replete with photographs he has made for his own pleasure.
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