Close Up
UB photographer shows work in Moscow
Berenice Abbott’s 1936 photo of the Custom House statues and the New York Produce Exchange (left) is shown next to Douglas Levere’s photo of the site today, now the Native American Museum statues and the MTA headquarters.
Not only can University Communications photographer Douglas Levere boast that he has had photography exhibited in a New York City museum, he now can lay claim to exhibiting his work internationally—and more specifically—in Moscow.
It all started when Levere, inspired by acclaimed photographer Berenice Abbott’s pictures of New York City during the 1930s, photographed the same locations as Abbott more than six decades after the original photos were taken. The series of photos led to a book, “New York Changing: Revisiting Berenice Abbott’s New York,” and an exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York in 2005.
It was during the New York City exhibition that the opportunity for the Moscow show began to take form. A Russian journalist flying to New York read about Levere’s museum exhibit, which happened to be the cover story for that month’s issue of the airline’s magazine. The journalist sought out an interview and, as Levere explains it, “at the end of the talk he said, ‘It would be great to have this show in Moscow.’”
Levere and the journalist discussed the possibility of a Moscow show for almost three years. During that time, Levere admits he was skeptical about the exhibition ever coming to fruition. “The reality of working with anyone without working through an institution is difficult, not to mention when working with a country across the globe,” Levere says.
But against all odds, his “New York Changing” exhibition was on display in October 2008 at a high-end Moscow restaurant called Gallery.
Levere admits he didn’t know what to expect when he arrived in Moscow. The U.S. stock market crashed the week he left for the opening, and the conflict between Russia and Georgia had strained relations between the U.S. and Russia. Levere was apprehensive about how these issues would translate to his exhibition. Much to his relief, the opening was greeted with fanfare—an American female jazz singer performed, as did a DJ, and the entire restaurant was made to look and feel like a New York City gallery opening. “It was really over the top,” Levere adds.
While in Moscow, Levere was asked often if he would do a “Moscow Changing” project. “As wonderful as it would be, to do such work abroad I would need sponsorship and support in Moscow to begin,” he says.
A native Long Islander, Levere graduated from UB in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in design studies from the School of Architecture and Planning. As an undergraduate, he was a photographer for the student-run publication Generation magazine and its precursor, Current. He was also a photographer for the Reporter. After graduating, he moved to New York City, where he lived and worked for more than a decade before returning to Buffalo in 2005 to raise a family with his wife, Luci, a Western New York native.
Of his work at UB, Levere is most proud of the portraits he took of people who came to see the Dalai Lama. “Having all these people come here from all around the world—and not only photograph them but find out who they are and really encapsulate them—was rewarding.”
Since moving back to Buffalo, Levere has continued to work as a freelance photographer. He has photographed the cover of Newsweek and other publications, and had the opportunity to shoot such celebrities as Willard Scott, Bob Villa, Anthony Bourdain and infamous Canadian newspaper mogul Conrad Black.
Levere would like to find another project on the scale of “New York Changing,” but cites the rigors of balancing family and work. “It’s a matter of finding that thing that is ‘here’ that will have the same type of resonance for me.”
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