NO ROAD IS EVER STRAIGHT:
DR. KEITH AUERBACH AND THE ART OF ADDICTION
Aaron Burch
T
wenty-five stark black and white images line the walls of the
Pyro Gallery at 909 E. Market Street in downtown Louisville.
The only guides are small phrases scratched in diagonal
slightly jagged handwriting. The images are arranged thoughtfully
to show the temptation, despair, and potential redemption of an
everyday person struggling with addiction.
The artist is Dr. Keith Auerbach, an acclaimed photographer,
psychiatrist and psychotherapist who has long been fascinated by
the intricacies of substance abuse. His new exhibit, Inside the Experience of Addiction: Photo Stories on Using, Abusing and Recovery
provides a window into the high peaks and low valleys of addiction,
for both the user and their loved ones.
“I wanted to talk about the experiences that people actually have,”
said Dr. Auerbach, speaking at the Pyro Gallery just hours before it
opened to the public. “I’ve treated a lot of addictions in my practice
and it’s always a peculiar process to understand how someone can
get into these repetitive, obsessive compulsive habits. Though my
patients have shared their vulnerabilities, I realized there’s all sorts
of things they don’t talk about. Almost worse than the addiction is
the denial, the secrets they keep.”
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
Arranging and curating these pieces, Dr. Auerbach kept in the
back of his mind what those suffering from addiction keep just below
the surface: the shame of letting down a loved one; the flashbacks
to moments of weakness; and the candlelight flicker of hope that
the future will be better than the past.
“What people in recovery realize that others often do not is that
addiction is both a medical illness and a spiritual illness. You’re
doing something that beats up your own essential goodness. So
what you want to do to get sober is find that place in you that’s your
soul or spirit because that’s where the power is,” said Dr. Auerbach.
The Inside the Experience of Addiction exhibit as it exists today is
still not finalized. Perhaps it never will be. It’s evolved many times
since the idea initially came to Dr. Auerbach nearly 30 years ago.
When he returned to photography just a few years ago after a long
hiatus, the project remained just as he’d left it.
“I’ve been friends with a nun at St. Catharine College for years,
and she knew I was delaying this process. About a year ago, the
college decided they’d require their students to read a book about
addiction called “Broken” by William Moyers, and she wanted my
exhibit to accompany their other curriculum. She called me up and