Frank Relle (born 1976) is an American photographer who lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Relle is best known for long exposure photographs of New Orleans nightscapes. The series depicted, among its architectural subjects, homes in New Orleans’ 9th Ward in varying states of decay and dilapidation following Hurricane Katrina. Using a combination of high-pressure sodium, mercury vapor, and daylight-balanced hot lights to illuminate his subjects, Relle bathes his images in haunting color and light that invite the viewer to slow down and to see the familiar as uncanny.
Relle’s photographs are featured at the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. They also feature in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s permanent collection. Relle’s photographs were published in The New Yorker and the Southern Review as well as other national and international publications. He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2007 International Photography Award and the 2019 Michael P. Smith Award for Documentary Photography. Relle was also included in Photolucida’s Critical Mass Top 50 Photographers lists in 2007 and 2010.
Table of Contents
- 1 Career
- 1.1 One Life One Life (2007)
- 1.2 Inside Out Project: Faces of Hope (2012) /h3> In 2011, Steve Gleason (a close friend of Relle and former New Orleans Saints safety player), revealed that he had Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Relle raised awareness for Gleason and his organization, Team Gleason, by participating in the Inside Out Project. The “Faces of Hope”, which involved large-scale expressive portraits of members of the community on exterior walls in New Orleans’ Bayou St. John neighbourhood, was about posting them. Relle told Fox 8’s Meg Gatto that many in the community wanted to help Steve. He explained this by saying “Faces of Hope”: “Photographing people and posting them around is like Steve’s images are saying, We’re trying our best for you. h3> Night Shade: Exploring Natural Spaces (2013) Relle turned his focus to the natural world in “Night Shade: Exploring Natural Spaces.” Kat Stromquist, a New Orleans journalist wrote that Relle was creating haunting images about the conflict between decay and overgrowth in humid cities. Some photographs frame City Park oaks with immaculate landscaping and symmetrical stars. Some photographs, such as those of West Bank’s Brechtel Park in the West Bank, show vines and epiphytes encroaching on trees to make a Tolkien-like darklit forest. “”Culture Share (2014) The U.S. Embassy in Russia supported Relle’s exhibition “New Orleans in Photographs”, as part of a mutual understanding effort between the countries. Relle created 100 large-framed photos by well-known photographers, and 1,000 other smaller images from Instagram. He replicated the formula used for his first New Orleans-themed, mixed professional/social media photography show for the city’s Octavia Gallery, Contemporary Antiques, in 2012. Instagram amateurs submitted more than 10,000 photos using the hashtag #LouisianaCulture. This show was intended to provide a look into everyday life in southeast Louisiana, and give Russian tourists a deeper understanding of the region. The show’s humanitarian, truthful and open approach was what struck the audience.Until the Water (2015)
- 1.3 Gallery at 910 Royal Street
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Career
After graduating from Tulane University with degrees in cognitive science and philosophy, Relle accompanied Gannt Boswell on a research trip to Canada to study and photograph carnivorous plants. He then went to New York City to study photography, where he worked as an assistant to renowned photographers Mary Ellen Mark and Arnold Newman. While working on movie sets and in photography studios, Relle gained a new understanding of lighting. However, he has said that he felt “lost in the bright lights and dark rooms of New York”; in 2004, he moved back to his hometown of New Orleans.
h3>
Nightscapes (2004-2008)
Relle’s return to New Orleans coincided with Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 storm that left the city abandoned and displaced over 1 million people across the Gulf Coast. In the following years, he documented the destruction and mainly focused on the fate of those structures. He often risked run-ins with National Guard patrols in abandoned neighborhoods to get his long-exposure shots of the flooded houses.
David Gonzalez, New York Times journalist wrote that “Nightscapes”, the photographs that make up “Nightscapes,” glow with moody colors that hint at the dramatics and routines inside.
Relle developed the project accidentally in 2004, after showing a friend how to take long-exposure night photographs. The images were well-received by Relle and he continued shooting at night. He grew in technical proficiency and began using a light truck. The homeowners gave permission to him to take photos and the local police helped to close down roads.
He has said that it was from being driven around in his grandmother’s Lincoln Town Car that he identified his unique perspective. “I discovered a new way to see. The wide old windshield, low to the ground provided me with the most amazing viewfinder that I have ever seen. The photographs were taken from 2004 through the present. They are all lit from the same angle to show the mood. Images are open to interpretation by viewers and allow for characters to appear in the background. “
Relle wrote in the May 2014 New York Times Profile that “There are not people in my photographs, but they all are character sketches of people I grew-up with.” I want to make things that encapsulate that and are able to communicate that not in explicit terms, but giving people access and letting them create their own narratives.”
Elizabeth Gordon, an arts lobbyist and teacher, praised Relle for his efforts in documenting the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Frank Relle has done that.”
“Nightscapes” has been exhibited across the United States. One of these photographs was featured as the cover photo of The New York Times Bestseller Nine Lives, which was written by Dan Baum. It was then accepted in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s permanent collection.
One Life One Life (2007)
Relle has said that while shooting “Nightscapes,” he met a man on the street who convinced him that it wasn’t safe to roam the streets of New Orleans alone. At the time, it was the third most murderous city in America. Relle took the man’s advice and hired an off-duty police officer to accompany him on his nightly shoots. He then became interested in the stories behind New Orleans’ murder statistics and found that his ride-along officer could provide detailed accounts of the shooters and victims.
Photo series “One Life One Life”, which documents empty yards, sidewalks and front yards in New Orleans, where murders have not been solved, is called the photo series. Photographed at night, each piece is titled with the victim’s name, date of birth, and date they had been killed. Each photograph is a limited edition print. All profits from “One Life One Life”, were donated to Efforts Of Grace, a non profit organization that fosters community development and education.
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Last update 2021-08-06