WILLIAM ABRANOWICZ

“You hold in your hands a book that says a great deal about Greece, possibly with greater subtlety than any number of words. This is because almost everything one can say about Greece is only partially true, or is contradicted by its equally valid (and equally partial) opposite.  At the time of writing, Greece is changing rapidly as it adjusts itself to the standards and regulations of the European Union, and is going through a period of economic reform.  Governments are collecting taxes successfully for the first time, with considerable consequences for the infrastructure.  Greece used to look like a poor country, even though everyone would say with a knowing smile ‘There’s no such thing as a poor Greek’.  Now it looks increasingly like a prosperous modern country, Athens has a superb underground railway system, and one hardly sees anymore those little black-garbed old widows trudging along the side of the road accompanied by a donkey loaded with sticks...”

- From introduction by Louis deBernieres, 2008

“This is not the distant vision of an outsider or a tourist, but of someone who has become

an old friend.”

- Tom Baril, photographer, author of Botanica

"The photographs of William Abranowicz reveal the infinite beauty of Greece and the vitality of it’s people in ways that will delight all who, like Mr. Abranowicz, have been beguiled by this enchanted land."  

- Nicholas Gage, author of Eleni

“Psyche, the Greek word for “soul” is said to come from a verb meaning “vital breath.”  I like this notion of soul.  And I’m quite certain that William Abranowicz captures this “breath of life,” this soul of the world that is the Greece I know and love, better than any other photographer. His sense of beauty is extraordinary, but more than that, he “gets it.”  He understands what does and does not change in Greece. One of his photographs hangs over the mantle in my bedroom. It is the first thing I see when I open my eyes, and it sings to me every morning. Soul music. Old soul music. New soul music. All made visual by an artist who, after “getting it,” gives it to the rest of us.”

- Linda Ellerbee, journalist, author, broadcaster