I visited the RCAA gallery during the November Artswalk. Michael J. Elderman is showing a limited selection from a series of portraits taken during the COVID lockdown. The collection focuses on local artists and business people coping with the isolation and economic shock we all experienced during the pandemic.
Michael has been documenting Riverside culture for half a century. He started as a young man doing street photography. His annual calendar has become a holiday tradition for many of us in town. Michael has earned, through the trust he has built, unique access to the people and places of Riverside that is necessary to document the city as “the Eyes of Riverside.” He has also created a repertoire of excellent output and a reputation for showing the best in people, which comforts even the camera-shy.
These photos show that, even though he may have VIP access, he is still a street photographer. The street photographer eschews the precise lighting and staging of a studio photographer and relies on a little luck. Magic is part of the plan. These photos are about finding that perfect frame that captures the simple beauty of a moment without neglecting the complexity of a situation. That was the challenge of the pandemic. In a mysterious and unprecedented time, how do we, collectively and individually, maintain our spirit and move forward?
Michael, like his subjects, found a way. He found an outlet in a trying time. It was people on their daily walk around Lake Evans, or in their galleries and businesses, trying to make the bizarre world normal.
Visit Michael J. Elderman’s COVID Portraits at the RCAA Gallery, on display for the rest of the month. You can also order his annual calendar through his Instagram page.
