There has been discussion on the Epson printer list about Jerry's passing.
He died several days ago, suddenly, at age 61 of a liver related failure.
Below is some information regarding his passing.
Posted on Fri, May. 16, 2003
Gerald D. Olson
Gerald D. Olson, 61, of Grand Forks, ND died Thursday, May 15, 2003 in
Altru Hospital, Grand Forks, ND.
Gerald Don Olson was born October 18, 1941 in Grand Forks the son of
Donald and Dorothy (Warren) Olson. He grew up in Grand Forks and
graduated from Central High School. He served in the Navy for four
years. Gerald attended the University of North Dakota and Brooks
Photography School in Santa Barbara, California. He worked for UND for
30 years in the photography department until retirement.
Gerald enjoyed planting flowers, cats and computers.
Gerald is survived by: Mother: Dorothy Olson - Grand Forks, ND.
He was preceded in death by his father Donald Olson.
Arrangements with Amundson Funeral Home, Grand Forks, ND.
Keith Krebs (owner of the Epson x7x list) adds:
He is survived by his mother, Dorothy Olson, and sadly, contrary to
the obituary, there will not be any services for Jerry.. Apparently
Jerry wasn't feeling well as of Saturday and entered the hospital for
testing and care on Monday,.. He was soon in the ICU unit suffering from
severe acute hepatic failure. He passed away from acute liver failure,
or complications thereof (not a situation of which he had been
heretofore aware he was even suffering from), yesterday..
Cards or expressions of sympathy may be sent to:
Dorothy Olson
3601 11th Ave. North
Grand Forks, ND 58203
==========================
Below are my personal thoughts:
I only knew of Jerry through discussions and debates on this and other
lists we mutually subscribed to. I archive interesting or informative
postings, or ones where an interchange or challenge of ideas occurs, and
in looking back, I see that Jerry's name appears several dozen times.
In a few cases, it would appear we crossed swords, but in a mutually
respectful manner.
As is so often the case with this type of communications medium, and the
nature of subscribed lists, our real knowledge and awareness of one
another is limited to the printed word. On rare occasion, a phone call
or letter passes between people, and very rarely, almost by serendipity,
people on lists like this may actually meet in person.
Sadly, we often know little more of a person than the typed words on a
computer screen.
And such was the case between Jerry and myself. In fact, the very first
time I viewed Jerry's photographs was just a few minutes ago, when I
visited his web site.
As those who have read my comments over the years may know, I do not
easily fawn over images just because of their technical excellence. I
have not always been kind in my criticisms of works by the well regarded
Ansel Adams, for instance, whom, to me, in spite of being a technician
of some stature, was more a phenomenon of time and place, than
necessarily a great visionary.
Speaking only for myself, in spite of Mr. Adams' work having wonderful
tonality and technicality, it always lacked a certain spark of
creativity, unique, point of view and story.
Knowing that Jerry Olson's works, due to their medium and subject
matter, will tend to be compared to Adam's work, and although I am sure
the translation of his images in their reduced size on my computer
screen do not do them justice, I do not feel they belong in the same
category as the works of Adams'.
I have been exposed to Ansel Adam's works most of my life, and never was
I overwhelmed by his images; at times impressed, but never emotionally
awestruck. However, my visit to Jerry Olson's web site images was quite
another matter. The spark that I found missing in Adams' work is very
apparent in Jerry's photographs. Not only are his images beautiful to
look at, but they each show his unique vision and have an important
story to tell. He documents place and time, but he also captures
something well beyond those elements alone. His images speak of the
power and sometimes stark beauty of nature, and of man's often tenuous
relationship with the natural landscape surrounding us. When he
massages his images digitally, it is with a mastery which reflects
either a subtle reverence or a commanding "you've got to see this...!"
Although I cannot express a sense of personal loss for Jerry Olson, as I
did not know him personally, I do wish to express my remorse that I did
not experience his images during his lifetime, so that I could have
communicated to him directly how taken I am with the vision he captured
and presented through his photographs. It is indeed a rare individual
that creates a body of work of such impact. I hope his loved ones can
find some solace in knowing that he has left a legacy that will remain a
testament to that which he obviously treasured, and which others will be
both moved and inspired by.
Art Entlich
For those of you who have not yet done so, consider visiting his web
site at: <>
Tim Atherton wrote:
> Dale - I missed this?
>
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: filmscanners_owner@halftone.co.uk
>>[mailto:filmscanners_owner@halftone.co.uk]On Behalf Of Li Xia and Dale
>>Weedman
>>Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2003 2:33 AM
>>To: tim@KairosPhoto.com
>>Subject: [filmscanners] Sad News Re: Jerry Olson
>>
>>
>>The generous help, assistance and encouragement that Jerry has given to me
>>over a number of years, on various Lists, has been outstanding. I
>>sometimes
>>wonder whether I would ever have got off the ground in digital imaging had
>>it not been for such help.
>>
>>He will be very sadly missed.
>>
>>Dale Weedman
>>Australia
>>
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>
>
>
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