RITUAL reviewed by Commonweal Magazine
January 29, 2024
Commonweal Magazine reviews RITUAL.
Photographs of religious ceremonies in places like Guatemala, India, and Morocco usually tend toward the exotic: bright colors and frenzied compositions that dazzle viewers. David Katzenstein’s work—the result of his travels through twenty-six countries over nearly forty years—is subtler and more measured, using black and white to infuse his subjects with an earthy dignity while imbuing their sacred rites with solemnity. His lens is refreshingly egalitarian, finding harmonies across spiritual and secular communities in places as diverse as Senegal and Turkey, Jerusalem and Bhutan, Brooklyn and Queens. Careful attention to smiling faces and ceremonial clothing also reveals a rare humility on the artist’s part, showing us that practicing photography—or any art—with curiosity and respect for others can also be a form of self-expression and self-discovery.
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