The collector of smiles
  
 On 26 August 1990, on the second page of The New York Times, published a photograph of a bombing occurred during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. A few meters from the bodies of a pair of civilians, a girl looked at what looked like a doll, while the corresponding article mentioned a 18 Kuwaiti exiles, who reminded his countrymen more than 500 dead. And while there was a relationship between text and image, the face of the girl talking about another story that had nothing to do with the characters portrayed. It was like she was smiling finished second.
 
O’remor Albert was not a war correspondent, but his agent he was easy to contact the Times and sell the rights of the picture, because O’remor enjoyed a certain prestige in the New York art. While prestige is not the most appropriate term to define their position in their profession. Virtually nothing was said about the quality of their work, but the recurring theme that always addressed in their works, leading the talks to the origins of his obsession, where opinions were found and ranged from the dramatic to the sublime, from even ridicule. As it were unanimous was in their ‘disease’ was degenerative. If not so, another reason why he traveled to Kuwait to portray this child, why she needed more and more painful situations to capture a smile.
 
O’remor Albert, whose mother is Danish and Irish father, was born in Baltimore, USA, in 1958. Since his four years, Albert began to show a special attraction for the smiles of others and, eventually, went on to become a deep fascination, awakening an uncontrollable desire to collect them. In his eighth birthday, he was presented with a “Kodak Instamatic 133 ‘. As expected, at the beginning, every smile was worth, but the start was very brief, because the same day that gave him the camera, ran out the reel with the faces of the guests who sat for him and could not see the images until three weeks later, when he managed to save enough to reveal the negative.
 
After that first experience, began to surprise their family with the intention of obtaining spontaneous smiles. The flashes came from under a bed, the back seat of the car, between the branches of the closet and place will serve as functional. After completing his tenth album, again called into question, choosing to include strangers. He did so for over a decade.
 Despite pretending to be an irrelevant fact, before we proceed, I would highlight one of the series that was part of this period, consisting of a hippie smiles showing different variations of the expression with respect to the type of drug she ate. This series-not now, but when thought about this-led to O’remor would make a long pause. The next two years took no photograph, the sort used in the 16.478 she already had. He was aware that a smile at the awakening had different nuances that one to bed, that of his younger brother was different when she saw her mother when she saw her father, her grandfather varied during the day and not with age that a more beautiful smile was not his face but by the sincerity and that, without exception, all had the ability to display it. At that point he had two feelings. Her collection was beautiful, but it was not so special. Anyone could have one like hers, it was just a matter of time and dedication. He stayed three years blank.
 
In 1984, he picked up the camera in the following premise: “We can all smile, but we are not all equal.” He began photographing celebrities. It lasted one week. A newsstand magazines contained more than he could achieve in his life. She felt stupid for having raised a premise so vulgar. He threw another: “We can all smile, but some find it harder.” With renewed spirit, portrayed beggars, the handicapped, without disguise clowns, soldiers guard and stereotype as he crossed his mind. He realized that it was less a matter of people … and dared to launch a third: “We can all smile, but there are times when it is almost impossible, because we are not born or forbid us.
 
Albert spent the morning watching the funeral and, at night, stood guard in the emergency department of hospitals. Once or twice, to vary the routine, she looked out the occasional fires and other disasters, conduct widely criticized both by some social institutions and the majority of New Yorkers. However, O’remor claimed, ahead of himself, a smile, at a time of tragedy, prevented deep emotional fibers are broken. To better assess their perspective, it should be emphasized that he would not dazzling smiles and laughter (either gracefully or hysterical).
 
A few months before Iraq invaded Kuwait, Albert O’remor had settled in the Middle East. He wanted to know how were the smiles of people who lived in a constant tragedy. No doubt his fascination filled. This explains that the day he photographed the girl from the ‘Times’, when the explosion occurred followed by a shootout, instead of running, gave the doll to the girl to photograph. In the midst of that meeting, a bullet struck him. The small left wrist and took the camera.
 
After his death, held its first exhibition of his work. Leo Castelli Gallery presented “Smile’s Collection”, including the photo you took the Kuwaiti girl, the only one that appeared O’remor Albert.
by Rafael R. Valcárcel