Good Job Boys!

Last time Humble did this exhibit there was quite a bit of hubbub about it, and while I stayed out of the fray, I was very happy to have this email in my inbox this morning. Jon and Amani always have the best intentions of artists, I have experienced this first hand on so many occasions, and this is just one more great way to support all artists!

Great news!

Dear Friends,After considering Humble Arts Foundation’s mission to advance the careers of emerging art photographers, we have decided to eliminate the age barrier for our 31 exhibition. We have always affirmed that “emerging” is not analogous with age. Therefore, effective immediately, women photographers, regardless of age are eligible and encouraged to apply for the newly titled 31 Women in Art Photography exhibition curated by Jon Feinstein and Charlotte Cotton. Go here for deadlines, submission guidelines and additional details.   Sincerely, amani olu and Jon Feinstein Founders, Humble Arts Foundation

CONGRATS!!

For those of you living in a complete NY-photo media blackout, you might not have heard about Ruben Natal-San Miguel’s show UNSEEN: A Photographer’s Salon, which opened last night at RSG, Randall Scott Gallery in Dumbo. Ruben, aka Artmostfirece, is one of the most dedicated photo supporters. There is not an opening or a fabulous party that he misses. I don’t think collectors and artists always become friends, but Ruben has gone out of his way to do so with the artists he supports. Ruben has always come out for my openings, and it is such a good feeling to walk into an art event and see his smiling face and fab outfit. So of course I was even more upset when I had to stay at work last night and miss the opening, which included a piece of my work! But I am excited to see that his show was a big success. So I look forward to heading out to Dumbo and seeing the show post-opening. There is also an upcoming artist talk, TBD. A great time to see the show is during the upcoming Artlog collectors event: Collect Dumbo, Friday, October 30, 2009 from 6:30-9pm. For more info go to: Artlog.com & Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). You can see all the great shows including my friend’s Bill Sullivan & Charles Freger’s show at Caption Gallery, also in 55 Washington on the 8th Fl.

Ruben and I at my solo show in Boston.

Some good photo debate

Via conscientious and Vice. Detroit is my home town so this is a very interesting debate for me. Also my father was involved in restoring one of these great “Detroit ruins.”  It is a debate that resonates even more during these hard economic times–the “just” way to document suffering is a long -running photo debate.

Andrew Moore “Gary Indiana”

Last week to catch my show!

Also, I am thrilled that Matthew Gambler of Big Red & Shiny reviewed the show today.  I have admired the Boston-based site for a long time and it is so flattering to have my work included there. People often complain that there is no good art criticism these days, but perhaps they are not reading BRS.  I don’t think I can begin to describe the effort, time and expense put into to making this show happen.  It has been an undertaking, and it would never have been possible without the help of James Hull, Gerald La Starza (having a super talented art director and furniture designer as a boyfriend who can make your frames is a big plus,) the amazing retoucher and printer Shane Connors,  Beth Schiffer, and my very supportive and understanding boss at Newsweek as well my crit group and a list of other supporters.  So thank you all, for hanging in there with me.

I have some theories…

New research says women are getting unhappier…

Drum Roll Please…

One thing that the web does exceedingly well is bring together people who might otherwise never have met.  However, developing real relationships with those you connect with online can be tricky. Sometimes it does translate into real life friendships. For instance, I met many other artists I consider friends through Ground Glass and Women in Photography, (shout out to Ms. Elkins here,) but often it ends after a few email exchanges that leave you feeling rather dissatisfied.  I think many of us have been craving some sort of deeper connection in the blog world for some time. There have been several efforts to do this, some more successful than others.

In my case this past year has been about shifting my focus from blogging to my own art work and to WIPNYC.  In that vein, it has been very important to me to get feedback from peers I can respect.  I was lucky enough this past spring to meet an extraordinary group of artists called POC, who generously allowed me to be a part of their group for one week in Salzburg.  And it was a revelation.  It was like all of the impulses that had led me to blog were suddenly fulfilled.  I had found a community, but a flesh and blood one, who were 100 percent committed to the pursuit of photography.  I actually stumbled upon the Piece of Cake website several years ago, right when I started studying photography. I remember thinking “wow what would it be like to be a part of something like that?” However at the time they only accepted European artists.  But somehow, in May I was sitting in on their workshop and at the end of the week I had agreed to spearhead the creation of a North American version.

It is crazy how things happen. But it has already been one of the best things that has happened in my photo journey so thus far.  We launched the American version this week, for now we have a small group but we are hoping to add more artists, from Canada and Mexico and other parts of the US as time goes on.

POC is basically a network of artists who meet, exhibit and work together to discuss and promote the medium of photography.  The US & European members hope to open a dialog across the Atlantic.  We are still in the process of discovery and are exited to see what will develop with the project.

There will be more info to come. But the first POC exhibit opens this Thursday at Caption Gallery in Dumbo.  Bill Sullivan and Charles Freger, representing both networks will share the space.  I hope you can join us to launch the new endeavor.

Have a look at the website to view the work of both Piece’s of Cake.

Caption Gallery

55 Washington 8th fl

Thursday Oct 1

6:30 – 8:30

Women Who Rock – LA Style

I often discuss the strange and continuing disconnect between the New York and West Coast photo/art scenes.  For some reason NY/Chicago/Portland, seem to have dialog and relationships, largely because of blogs and perhaps personal relationships among artists.  But California remains an island. I am certain that lots of great stuff is happening there–after Ed Ruscha and other than TMZ, which in a way is sort of like a bizarre performance art piece.  Sharon Lockhart for instance is one of the most innovative and interesting photographers out there, but she rarely is referenced in the NY art scene.  But two self-described NY transplants, Nicole Lloyd and Cara Nieto, have started a blog to document and promote the LA art scene.  Both are artists and curators themselves. Nicole and I met after she included my work in the LA Slideluck Potshow, a couple years ago.  She is also a talented photog in her own right and an SVA alum.  Their blog Superluminal is a well needed bridge to the other side…aka California!

–

If you happen to be in Chelsea today I will be presenting a selection of my Ultraviolet work as part of the first Project 5 artist salon at Daniel Cooney Fine Art. The talk begins at 3pm and includes artists: Timothy Briner, Jessica Dimmock, Yola Manakhov.511 West 25th Street, Suite 506. I will be speaking last.

Blogs doing it right

Ok, so I am such a bad blogger, that I only got around to updating my expired custom CSS today, so some of you may have noticed GG looked pretty nasty for the last few weeks.  And now that my first solo show is finally pretty my done, I thought I would try to get back to the blog.  However, now it looks like I am moving, and I did my “to do” list on the train to Boston, and by page seven, I started to not be able to read my own handwriting.  Realistically I am not sure I can maintain my GG, right now. I have hit a moment in my personal life and work, where the stakes are the highest they have ever been and every moment matters.  Ground Glass has been the thing that slipped through the cracks… and I have lost track with the blogging world.  However, I got a google alert with my name on it recently from NYMPhoto’s blog.  And I spent some time looking over what they have been up to lately, and I was very impressed.  They are consistently providing good content with interviews and information about events and openings.

So if you are not reading it now, you should take a look.

And I will try to periodically add content here, until I get around to figuring out the next phase of GG.

—

Also, the Blurb 2009 Photography Book Now winner’s have been announced, take a look at this year’s winners.

Singular Beauty Opens in Boston

Here is part of the reason I have been MIA from blogging. My first solo show will run from August 17th – October 10th, 2009 at the Suffolk University Art Gallery. I hope those of you in the Boston area can make it to the opening on September 17th. Needless to say, I can’t wait to see the work on the wall in a finished installation.

Singular Beauty

Curated by James Hull

Suffolk University Art Museum at NESAD

Opening Reception September 17th, 6-8:30pm

75 Arlington St, Boston MA

On Blog Exhaustion

It was funny for me to read Joerg Colberg’s recent post on blogs,  I myself have had a half-hearted post about the state of blogs lingering as an unfinished draft for some time. But not surprisingly with my current life, I never got around to posting it. My general feeling about photo blogs has been a bit negative lately–that is not against other people’s blogs, but towards the overly insular and self-contained universe that it created. While I think some incredible things came out of it, and I have made some real friendships, ultimately it was not satisfying the true need I had to be more engaged in the photo process with my peers. In fact, it started to feel like an impediment to my own creative process. The amount of energy and time that was going into Ground Glass, was sucking me a little dry–leaving very little time or energy to make pictures.

However after my recent experience of having a meaningful, engaged dialog with my peers in person, I left re-energized and brimming with ideas. In a way, not blogging has helped me finally really edit of my Singular Beauty work, it gave me time to finish my book and actually start sending out my mock-up, and it gave me time to make room for a new project. So as much as I loved blogging, I realized for me right now, I had to choose. And paying my bills and my own photo work has to come first. Followed by Women in Photography. There is not a whole lot left over after that. I wish I could be super woman, but sadly I am not.

But at the Young Curators New Ideas, II opening, I got into a conversation with two woman who are still actively blogging. I will admit I was a bit negative about the entire “blogoshpere,” but the next day I got a google alert and went to PalmAire, (WIPNYC artist) Tema Stauffer’s blog and realized that is it me that is currently experiencing blog exhaustion. Both Tema, and Tethered’s, Elizabeth Fleming, have really engaging, personal and intelligent posts. And other blog’s, like Horses Think, and Nina Corvallo’s blog, and others, have continued to be really great reads. I think at the heart of the blog, is the personal voice. For me, blogs that stay like personal online diaries, and have an certain intimacy and that focus on sharing information about a subject they truly love, work best. When blogs move into the professional media territory, they start to lose a bit of soul.

Once blogs become “professionalized,” to me they are less interesting. The internet is the great equalizer, it is a place where major news organizations compete with small individuals for market share and audience. Something that was impossible when you had to pay to publishing costs.  So I understand the temptation to step up your game, but there are so many blogs now from the mainstream press, why not keep the individual blog more personal and less concerned with blog stats.  Unless you want to become a mainstream media outlet, with advertising etc. Which, by the way, I am not against.

Yet blogs like PalmAire and Horses Think, remind of what a valuable part of the photo community a blog can be–and perhaps now that my first solo show is close to being completely framed and delivered to the gallery, I will again be drawn back to share some of the amazing things that have happened in the last few months. But until then, there are a lot of wonderful voices out there, you just need to find the ones you care enough to listen to.

Project 5

If you have not heard about it already something exciting has been brewing in Chelsea. I think this is a very intelligent and positive way to respond to the current economic crisis, and I am involved with a similar effort to unite artists.

While the portfolio’s are bit outside of my budget, the portfolio reviews are an amazing opportunity and I am sure will sell out fast.  I can say from personal experience that these reviews really can lead to things, even if it takes some time.

So take a look if you have a new project, just graduated school, or want to introduce your work to some of the best NY photo galleries.  Also, I am very honored to be taking part in their first “Artist Salon” on September 26th.  See all the info below, the Project 5’s press release:

Amador Gallery, ClampArt, Daniel Cooney Fine Art, Foley Gallery and Sasha Wolf Gallery are proud to announce their collaboration on a series of projects.

This unique cooperation between gallerists has grown from years of friendships and shared ambitions in the photography market. Reaching out to one another to create these new initiatives seemed like the next step for these 5 to collectively grow their shared ideals while maintaining their own distinguished programming.

The galleries, referred to here as, Project 5, will begin their collaboration with a portfolio of 5 images by 5 artists, one from each of the participating Project 5 galleries to be released on September 15. All images will be unique to the portfolio—made specifically by the participating artists for this project. The artists included are: Olaf Otto Becker from Amador, Jill Greenberg from ClampArt, Stuart O’Sullivan from Daniel Cooney, Thomas Allen from Foley Gallery and Guido Castagnoli from Sasha Wolf Gallery.

The portfolios will be released in an edition of 30, priced with new collectors in mind at $2500. Each print will be signed and numbered by the artist and the portfolio will be enclosed in a custom made clothbound case. The portfolio offers collectors the unique opportunity of starting a relationship with five different artists and galleries at the same time.

Additionally, Project 5 is introducing a series of Portfolio Reviews for artists who feel they would benefit from the valuable input of these gallerists’ expertise. The first Portfolio review will be Sunday, September 20^th. Project 5 asks that artists send ten jpgs to projectfivecontact@gmail.com.

Another exciting collaboration will be a monthly series of Artist’s Salons that will alternate between Project 5’s galleries. The first Salon will be held at Daniel Cooney Fine Art on Saturday, September 26^th at 3:00 p.m. and will feature four emerging artists presenting their latest bodies of work for a half hour each. Participating artists are Timothy Briner, Yola Monakhov, Jessica Dimmock, and Cara Phillips.

Two Reasons I Love What I Do

While I know I have been not blogging very much the last 3 or 4 months, I have been immersed in my own work, in Women in Photography and in my day job. While I miss you all very much and the blog community, I have had so many great things happening I have decided to be ok with letting the blog go a bit until I can redefine its next incarnation.

But just so you know how I am spending my time here are two of the things I am happily immersed in.  More soon on my own work….

The loss of Polaroid has been pretty devastating to many photographers, it has had a big effect on my UV work, and I am still trying to figure out how to do it without type 54 or 55.  So when they said they were doing a piece on the loss of Polaroid at work, I was immediately excited to do something.

We put together an online gallery of the incredibly varied work made by photographer’s who use the instant film. And we asked them to tell us why they chose to work with Polaroid or what made it special. This meant that I got to speak to Chuck Close and David Levinthal about working with the 20×24 camera and email with Philp Lorca di Corcia.  Suffice to say, it was a fantastic experience.  You can see the gallery and read the quotes now on newsweek.com.

And today a new WIPNYC show went up with Lynne Cohen.  She has a new book out of all her color work, which is fantastic. This show is personally very exciting for me because Lynne is one of my favorite photographers.  I will never forget a few months into what would become Singular Beauty, my photo teacher Joel Sternfled, looked at my empty spa room and said, “I think you should look at Lynne Cohen.”  Of course after seeing her extraordinary work, I almost abandoned my entire project.  But after some time and thought, her work made me realize how important conceptual framework is to a body of work, and I also began to see how despite the similar subject matter, how very different our approach and ultimate goals were.

If you have a chance check out her show here.

Lynne Cohen | Untitled (Submarines)

A Very Good Cause

While I am sure you have all already seen it, Joerg Colberg is holding a fundraiser for his blog Conscientious.  Blogs are indeed a labor  of love, and Amy and I have certainly discovered from Women in Photography how demanding and time consuming they can be.  And Joerg certainly treats his blog as a professional endeavour, all done for no compensation.  The reality of internet advertising, is that if you have less than a 100,000 hits a day, you really are not going to make any money.

So, if you read his blog and can spare $5, $10, or $20+ dollars, it is a worthy cause indeed.

An Interview with Darius Himes: Head Judge of Blurb’s Book Contest

Some of you may know that last year, Singular Beauty, was the 1st runner-up in the themed book category of Blurb’s inaugural  “Photography Book Now” contest.  Last year’s contest had over 2000 entries and needless to say I was incredibly honored to have been chosen.  The great thing about the Blurb contest is that they really make it into an event, for instance last year I flew out to San Francisco for the awards, and there was an entire day of excellent seminars about photo books followed by a formal award ceremony.  And while yes, it was lovely to win, more importantly just by entering the contest,  I was able to solidify what a photo book of my work should be that I am currently submitting to publishers.

One other  great thing to come out of the award for me, was getting to meet Darius Himes, head judge of the contest, publisher of Radius Books, writer, photographer, and truly one of the nicest and smartest people in photography.  So as this year’s contest is about to really kick off, (DEADLINE FOR ENTRY IS JULY 16TH) I thought it would be an ideal moment to interview Darius about the contest and about the state of the photo book in general.

1.  First off Darius, let me just say your current blog post about the Photography Book Now contest is incredibly informative and very useful for anyone interested in making a photo book.  I am particularly struck by your comments here:

A book, in general, is a very democratic and accessible vehicle to disseminate ideas, in the form of either text or images—two primary advantages are that books require no electricity and can be returned to again and again, unlike an exhibition, for instance, or the Internet.

Can you expand a bit on this?  As you know there has been an explosion of internet magazines and photo sites/blogs, and the word most often used to differentiate them from the mainstream photo world is “democratic,” in that they are free and available to anyone with internet access. And truthfully, most sites have archives, so the images can be seen as long as the website stays up. So how to you see the photo book as more democratic than the internet?

DH: That’s a great question. Potentially, books are more accessible precisely because they don’t require any “interface”—a computer + electricity + Internet connection—to access their contents. I’m talking about books in general here, not just photobooks. I don’t have current figures at my fingertips, but I would assume that many hundreds of millions, if not billions of people, have no computer + electricity + Internet connections. But I’m not trying to set books against the Internet in this equation.

I think that when the word “democratic” is used in this context, we’re talking about the fact that there is direct access, by people like you and me and other image makers, to a means of expression that previously had fierce “goal-keepers” in the form of magazine and book editors. You couldn’t really be “published” in either of those formats without having the endorsement of an editor (and if you just paid for it yourself, you suffered the dreaded “vanity press” stigma).

So the Internet and this new print-on-demand technology does represent a “handing over” of the power to the people. That of course begs the question of the role of a good editor and the place of an endorsement by a publisher….

2. I ask this because obviously the print world, like film, is in danger of becoming obsolete. I think print books, however have a rosier future, but this is an important distinction to make, the experience of viewing images online versus in print.  What do you think is the relevance of print books as a means of communication in the age of the internet?

DH: Another great question. First, the Internet is an amazing thing. Undeniably. Unbelievable access to information that the people of previous centuries would never have dreamed of. But somewhere deep in my gut sits the sense that because we are physical creatures, we still appreciate a physical object. The difference between printed text and printed images is that they generally serve different masters. Sometimes we just need information, and that information is conveyed through words or images. The Internet is great for that. Sometimes though the images (less so with words) are not about information as they are about the experience of viewing, and that involves a physical object. Here, the Internet falls short. Photography, because it is used for so many different intents, is very complicated in this regards. Sculptors don’t think about these issues. They make an object and then if you want to see that object, you have a limited number of options: either come to where the object is and gaze on it, or view it through a photographic representation (whether in a book, online, or in a magazine). End of story. It’s not so clear with photography.

3. Following up on that, you have a pretty strong web presence, do you think the web and print can actually co-exist and be mutually beneficial, or is print really being killed by the web as some might argue?

DH: The Internet is obviously a relatively new place for people to get news about their world and their surroundings. And it is undeniable that it is having an impact on the world of printed periodicals. But I think it is very dangerous for anyone in this day and age to become too “attached” to a commercial product. The commercial world is driven by market forces that are out of the control of any of us. Here’s another way of thinking about it: the daguerreotype was killed by the wet-plate collodion negative was killed by the dry-plate negative was killed by the tintype was killed by albumen prints was killed by nitrate film was killed by gelatin-silver film & paper was killed by Iris prints was killed by Epson was killed by …. You get the idea. I wrote an essay about this (which you can find here) as it relates to photographic materials and the really groovy work of Alison Rossiter.

I think that “killed” is the wrong word, because you can still make a daguerreotype if you really want, so it’s not dead. It’s just not a viable mass-market product. Magazines and newspapers are only a vehicle, in the end. They are a means (an “organ” in the old parlance). If they are the means, then what’s the “end”? The end is good, quality writing and journalism (+ news of the world, one’s industry, whatever). The periodical and book publishing industries are being reconfigured before our eyes and we get to play a role, if we think of it that way. This is the task of our generation! (Even though I may be too old, at this point. Perhaps it’s for the 20 yr olds to sort out).

4. If the web is a threat to publishing, what is the effect of on-demand publishing? Do you think there is a way for both business models to survive?

DH: l don’t think the web is a “threat” to “publishing”, though defining what we mean by “publishing” is required. Yes, things are changing because of the Internet (obviously), but that’s the nature of technology and the nature of the 20th/21st centuries. We’re actually seeing lots of small publishers—one- or two-person operations—flourishing, while we’re listening to large houses talk about the “death” of publishing as they know it.) So, from my perspective, I think that print-on-demand technology is another tool in the toolbox of an artist/writer.

5. One thing I have been thinking about lately now that I am taking my Photography Book Now winning book project to publishers, is the difference between a self-published book and a book done with a publisher.  It seems like one of the benefits (or challenges) of working with a publisher is that the process is more of a collaboration.  You get to work with an editor, a designer, and writers.  When you make a self published book you tend to be the only voice present. Do you think collaboration is integral to making a successful photo book?

DH: Totally. Collaboration is essential, and being aware of all of the points along the way where collaboration *can* happen is important. Great collaboration can happen in conceiving the project and the aim of the book, in editing the photographs, in design, in the production and materials decisions that are made, in marketing the book, etc. In other words, there are lots of ways that collaboration can happen. Photographers that try to do all of those things singlehandedly often discover they’re not very good at one or some of those elements. Photographers often worry that they’ll “lose control”. But often they don’t have a clear idea of what type of book they want—from concept to audience to design—and they end up stifling the success of their book by trying to maintain what they think of as “control.” There’s nothing to stop a photographer from bringing all of those people into the mix, as freelancers, for their print-on-demand book, by the way.

6. As a follow up to the last question, in order to get your work published you obviously need to have a mock-up of some kind. Do you think contests like Photography Book Now, are a good way to test out your book and get the ball rolling? And of course if you win, $25,000 can help out with a lot of things.

DH: Exactly. For all those photographers that say they want a book of their photographs… well, bring it. Show us your best book.

7. One thing you mentioned last year in San Francisco at the awards event, was that you and the judges did not pick the winners based purely on photo quality. I think this is a very important caveat for artists to note. Can you talk a little about how a photo book is more than just a collection of good pictures?  What about monographs, can they be structured more like a collection of prints that are bound or do they also need to be something more?

DH: Right. This is not a “photography” contest. This is a photography-book contest. The photography and the book elements carry equal weight. The judges will be looking at things like cover design, the subject matter of the book, the page layouts, the editing and sequencing, the emotional/intellectual/creative impact of the overall book, along with the strength of the photography itself. And the categories, as you can see from my own blog posting, are aimed at getting you thinking about books the way publishers think about books.

8. Getting specifically to the contest, you guys have had an amazing roster of judges both years, how did you get such a distinguished group to participate.

DH: I really credit the rising importance of art and photobooks for the reason that our judges want to be involved. Several of the judges have told me that they want to see what photographers are doing with this new creative medium.

9. The contest last year had a lot of great satellite events, will this year’s contests have more of the same?

DH: Yes, definitely. Keep checking here.

10. You must put an enormous amount of time and energy into this. What would you say you have learned, discovered, enjoyed, or been challenged by in this process?   I ask this because I recently judged my first photo grant, the WIPNYC-Lightside Project Grant, and while I found it incredibly difficult to choose a winner, it was so gratifying to be able to give money to help another artist.  It was quite a learning experience for me.

DH: Honestly, I just love the creative community. If you’re trying to work in the arts, you’re doing it because you love it. I love to be able to help and encourage photographers trying to pursue what they love. Plus, I love books + photography, so I wanna know what’s happening out there!

11. If you could give people applying one piece of advice for the contest, what would it be?

DH: Read my blog entry about the categories! :)

12. Lastly, you are out there is the photo world trenches. What right now is really exciting or interesting to you?  What photo books are you looking at these days?

DH: Oh geez. Too many good books/publishers/photographers out there to list individually. I’m always thrilled to receive new Fraenkel Gallery announcements in the mail, and I’m pretty geeked out over the Google maps & timeline capabilities. I’m excited for the O’Sullivan show next Spring at the Smithsonian, and I’m kind of obsessed with John Gossage’s books right now. I’m also reading Titus Burckhardt essays on Islamic Art and “the Void” as well as looking at the work of Kandinsky, Augustus Vincent Tack, Mark Tobey, and Hiroshi Sugimoto in relation to each other and the presence of “the spiritual” in their work. And I’m trying to get some sun and desert hikes in amidst this very wet Santa Fe summer.

Darius Himes is a founding member of Radius Books, a non-profit, Santa Fe-based organization created in 2007 that publishes books on the visual arts, where he works as an acquiring editor. Prior to that he was the founding editor of photo-eye Booklist, a quarterly magazine devoted to photography books, from 2002-2007. He is also a lecturer, consultant, educator and writer, having contributed to Aperture, Blind Spot, Bookforum, BOMB, PDN, and American Photo. He earned his BFA in Photography from Arizona State University and a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College and actively pursues his own photographic image-making. In 2008, he was named by PDN as one of fifteen of the most influential people in photo book publishing.

“Darius Himes, lost in the Midwest, thinking that Purple Rain was just about the coolest movie ever.”

Some Bits & Pieces

I know I am not writing here much lately but currently life is taking up all of my time, making blogging a bit impossible.  Also, I am rethinking what I want to do here.  Ground Glass was amazing for me as I first entered the photo world, but now that I have I grown as an artist and in my career, the blog will need to evolve with me. And I am still figuring that out.  Until I do,  I will try to add content here and there that I find interesting and keep people updated on what I am doing.

And on the subject of blogging, I got a google alert recently that made me very happy.

The above was posted on “We Love You So” which to my great delight is a blog affiliated with film director Spike Jonze’s new movie Where the Wild Things Are.  The blog has some really cool stuff on it, and Being John Malkovich is one of the all time greatest movies. So needless to say having any connection to Jonze is thrilling.

Also very exciting, Issue #19 “Wonder” of FOAM magazine is on newsstands now. I am incredibly flattered to have a short essay on Cindy Sherman in the “On My Mind” section.  And in one of the wonderful twists of photo fate, my fantastic photo professor, Penelope Umbrico, is also in On My Mind, written about by Leslie Martin of Aperture Books.  The issue has some very strong work including WIP’s recently featured artist: Jessica Backhaus.

And finally I recently discovered this book, Clinic through Facebook of all places, and cannot wait to order my copy. Of course the work is right up my alley, but I am so impressed by the way the book is structured, the choice of work and in general the idea of doing a themed photo book of this quality with a group of photographers.  Look for the work of Peter Granser, Ville Lenkkeri, and Jacqueline Hassink in addition to the terrific found images. Grab it while it’s at this special price.

Don’t miss, ‘Thrift and Dark Stores’

Tomorrow at Julie Saul Gallery

Brian Ulrich

5/28/09 6-8 pm opening reception

535 W 22nd St

saulgallery.com

Klingman’s Furniture, 2008 © Brian Ulrich

And check out Salzburg-based photographer and blogger, Andrew Phelps’s special edition pre-release of his new book:

NOT NIIGATA, 2009
28×28 cm, hardbound
ca 112 pages
ca 50 color images
ca 40,- Euro
Kehrer Verlag Heidelberg

You can contact him directly to purchase.  I have seen both the book dummy and the work, and it is a great edition to any photo library.

© Andrew Phelps – from NOT NIIGATA, 2009

Make Room for the Big Boys!

NY Times launches photo blog… hmmmm…blogs are going mainstream.

I love the idea of photojournalism getting such a high-profile outlet. Let’s see what they do with it….

Check out at New York Photofest

Panel Discussion at the New York Photo Festival

Brooklyn, New York

Artist-Publisher:
Mass Produced for Mass Dissemination
Panel Discussion

Thursday, May 14, 2009
5:00 pm

FREE with Festival Admission

New York Photo Festival
St. Ann’s Warehouse
38 Water Street
Brooklyn, New York
(718) 254-8779

The panel discussion series, Aperture Presents, premiers with acclaimed NYPH08 curator and Aperture publisher, Lesley A. Martin, moderating the discussion Artist-Publisher: Mass Produced for Mass Dissemination. Participants will include Jason Fulford and Leanne Shapton (J&L Books); Richard Renaldi (Charles Lane Press); and others to be announced.

Photographer Jacob Holdt Friday, May 15, at 3PM.

St Ann’s Warehouse.

We are pleased to announce the participation of the following artists in the ”New Documentations” Special Screening scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 16th at 8pm, in St. Ann’s Warehouse during the upcoming New York Photo Festival 2009.  Many of the artists will be in attendance and will participate in a Q&A immediately following the screening.  There will also be a panel discussion on Sunday, May 17th at 2pm, entitled ”New Documentations”, featuring many of the same artists.  Tickets required.

Participating Artists in the “New Documentations” Special Screening are:

Dawoud Bey

Jodie Bieber

Edward Burtynsky

Elinor Carucci

Lauren Greenfield

Robert Hornstra

Pieter Hugo

Ed Kashi

Gerd Ludwig

Joshua Lutz

Jehad Nga

Eugene Richards

Paul Shambroom

Alessandra Sanguinetti

Mikhael Subotsky

Donald Weber

A Special MediaStorm Presentation of “Driftless: Stories from Iowa” by Danny Wilcox-Frazier

and…

A Special Presentation by the W. Eugene Smith Fund

This Friday at NYPH!

“Blogging and The Photography Community”

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May 15, 2009
11:00 am	to	12:00 pm

Joined by Jorg Colberg, this panel will include Cara Philips, Laurel Ptak, Andrew Hetherington and Brian Ulrich.

Note from Frank Evers – This panel promises an open-ended discussion on the current state of the blogging and the photography community, or what I lamely call the “photosphere”.  If you think that you have any clue as to what is actually going on in photography today, then you will be hogging a seat from the early morn.

Audience participation is expected, so bring your brain.

Panel participants are:

Jorg Colberg - http://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/

Cara Philips – http://caraphillips.wordpress.com/

Laurel Ptak – http://www.iheartphotograph.blogspot.com/

Andrew Hetherington – http://www.whatsthejackanory.com/

Brian Ulrich – http://www.notifbutwhen.com/NIBW/

Bits & Pieces….

Exciting artist discovery, Thorsten Brinkmann, show up in Berlin now…but watch out he is coming to America.  Also, great book of his work published by Hanje Cantz.

New photo theory book: Photography After Frank

Aperture Event tonight

Photography After Frank: Essays by Philip Gefter Book Party and Signing

Thursday, May 7, 2009 6:00 pm

Visual Arts Gallery

601 West 26th Street 15th Floor, Suite 1502

New York, New York (212) 592-2145

One more sign that process is far too important in contemporary photo practice. This cat recently had a solo show. So all you gallery owners who think work is interesting purely because of it’s fresh use of  “technology” this ones for you! Meet Cooper,  he applying for the next round of the Guggenheim’s.

The answer is finally found to how your cat really sees you.

The hidden inner life of your cat….