Retiree Proves It's Never Too Late to Start a New Career

Growing up in Florida, Alan J. Rubin earned a good bit of money as a resort hotel photographer, taking souvenir photos of guests frequenting the then newly-opened Art Deco-style hotels of Miami Beach, and then a summer at the hotels in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He also worked as a commercial photographer's assistant, photographing weddings and numerous small events.

"I took all of the photos that the other photographers didn't want to do," he said. "I didn't care. I just loved photography."

Despite his young age, he knew it was a job that he cherished. However, as can happen with many early dreams, Rubin set aside his camera to attend to the process of becoming an adult - earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami at Coral Gables, a stint in the U.S. Army, returning to college to earn his Master's and then Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, then getting married and raising a family, while building his career as a professor of environmental engineering and chemistry in Ohio.

"I rediscovered photography upon my retirement in 1991," said Rubin. "A half-dozen college courses in photography at The Ohio State University under the direction of Tony Mendoza and Ardine Nelson, and a like number of courses in art history brought me up to date and greatly expanded my vision."

Rubin said his primary interest throughout his photographic career was in making portraits of people as individuals, in groups, and in interactions with others. Later, he turned to traditional landscapes and the constructed environment for subjects.

"A good example of my approach is with my photograph, 'Chicago Landscape #2,' where I was trying to effect the crisp, geometric style of the American Precisionist painters in an attempt to find an interesting way to capture the beauty of an urban landscape," he said.

Currently, his interest is in the field of digital photography, having studied Adobe Photoshop photo manipulations.

Rubin's photographs - many of them taken since his retirement - will be the subject of a one-man show, Retrospective, at the JCC from Dec. 7 through Jan. 14.

To date, Rubin has had 10 one-man shows and exhibited at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus and the Ohio State Fair, as well as the Columbus Area Artists Competition at the Northwood Art Space, and the Dairy Barn in Athens, Ohio. He has received numerous awards, including Monochrome Print of the Year for 1998 and 2003, and Color Photograph of the Year in 2000 and 2001 from the Westbridge Photography Club.

Most recently, he served as a docent at the Columbus Museum of Art, and has served as president of the Westbridge Photography Club, the Photographic Society of Whitehall, and the Men’s Council of the Willson Outdoor Center. In addition, he also has served as vice president of the Westbridge Camera Club.

In applying his skills as a teacher and mentor, Rubin has lectured on the technical and aesthetic aspects of photography to several organizations locally, including the Columbus Museum of Art and Columbus State Community College, as well as a basic photography course at an elderhostel in Wisconsin. He also conceived and photographed a Holocaust memorial exhibit entitled, "Theresienstadt Today," presented at the JCC in 2004.

"I am often asked why do you think this is a great photograph? Just what is it that makes a great photography? Why is one photograph considered better than another," he said.

"These are particularly vexing questions involving matters of taste, aesthetics, and perhaps the experience of the viewer," said Rubin. "In general, the answer is the same as with any work of art involving composition, and the particulars of line, shape, pattern, form, and tone or color.

"In other words, a great photograph depends on the image and how effectively the contents of the 'frame' are presented to the viewer. This may involve several technical matters, such as the method of printing or toning or even mounting, or the context in which the photo is lighted or grouped," he said.

Rubin added that great photographs stand on their own. "On the other hand, some photos only have a meaning when seen in a group or as part of a series of other photographs or as a component of a larger work of contemporary art," he said.

He cited as example an exhibit by master photographer Walter Rosenblum at the Columbus Museum of Art. "Certainly, some of the photographs in this exhibit were very strong and could have stood by themselves, but many, if not most, made sense artistically only as part of the whole exhibit," he said.

Rubin also gave another example as an exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art entitled "Take Back the Night," which dealt with rape and women's fear of the night. "None of the individual photographs of this series could be called a great photography, nor were any particularly compelling. But taken as a whole the exhibit was very powerful," he said.

"An interesting aspect of these two exhibits was the way in which they were hung. The Rosenblum photos were in a line, gallery style, while the latter were arranged on one wall vertically and horizontally in relation to one another in a sort of compact salon style to emphasize their mutual dependence," said Rubin.

"Certainly, individual photographs, again like individual paintings, cannot tell a story. Words are needed unless the viewer knows that particular story. But a great photograph begs for a story. A great photograph is evocative of something beyond the image itself," he said.

"Art is an acquired taste," said Rubin. "To recognize a great photograph, as with any art, requires knowledge, and that's all the more reason to see and study the photographs of the master photographers."

Retrospective will be on display at the JCC lobby, and open from 5:45 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 5:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday; 1:30 to 6 p.m., Saturday; and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, visit the JCC website at www.columbusjcc.org or call (614) 231-2731.

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