THE NEW YORK SUN

THE NEW YORK SUN WEEKEND EDITION, APRIIL11‑13,2003

PHOTOGRAPHY

THOUGHTFUL LENS Shimon Peres, Elie Wiesel, Susan Sontag, and Richard Avedon have all fallen under the scrutiny of psychiatrist Sima Arian. The results are now on view in a public exhibit of Ms. Arian's intimate portraits - that is, photographs ö of these figures and others prominent in New York and Tel Aviv circles. When seeing patients, Ms. Arian says, "I am acutely aware of a person's facial expressions. I once told a patient after a session, - ÎYou feel better now,' and she asked me, 'How do you know?' I could see it in her face." Ms. Arian brings this power of observation to her work as a photographer, which she says is a hobby. None of the subjects in her exhibit are her patients; many are friends. "I tend to catch people off-guard," she says, pointing to a photograph of Zubin Mehta, who stands in profile, with a smile on his face. "He's looking at his mother," she says. Through Friday, April 14, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave., at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, free.