Some Bits & Pieces
June 28, 2009
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’
May 27, 2009
Tomorrow at Julie Saul Gallery
Brian Ulrich
5/28/09 6-8 pm opening reception
535 W 22nd St
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!
May 18, 2009
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
May 14, 2009
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:
Robert Hornstra
A Special MediaStorm Presentation of “Driftless: Stories from Iowa” by Danny Wilcox-Frazier
and…
This Friday at NYPH!
May 13, 2009
“Blogging and The Photography Community”
| 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….
May 7, 2009
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
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….
Don’t Miss
April 29, 2009
My good friend and fab photographer Tema Stauffer is one of several talented women on view tonight in the group show organized by the online blog project NYMPHOTO. I will be on a plane, but I those of you in town should stop by and take a look.
A New Low For Bush Administration
April 27, 2009
From NY Times
Dieting in the Torture Memos
In a footnote to a May 10, 2005, memorandum from the Office of Legal Council, the Bush attorney general’s office argued that restricting the caloric intake of terrorist suspects to 1,000 calories a day was medically safe because people in the United States were dieting along those lines voluntarily.
“While detainees subject to dietary manipulation are obviously situated differently from individuals who voluntarily engage in commercial weight-loss programs, we note that widely available commercial weight-loss programs in the United States employ diets of 1,000 kcal/day for sustained periods of weeks or longer without requiring medical supervision,” the footnote reads. “While we do not equate commercial weight loss programs and this interrogation technique, the fact that these calorie levels are used in the weight-loss programs, in our view, is instructive in evaluating the medical safety of the interrogation technique.”
There are so many things wrong with this, I cannot begin to discuss them all. But just the basic idea that our government would use the fact that Americans suffer from eating disorders as a justification for using starvation as a torture method is enough…..
The Future is Here
April 24, 2009
CAID Exhibit
April 19, 2009
It has been great to see a growing contemporary art scene in my hometown of Detroit. The Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, CAID, is still developing a program, but they just launched their first online exhibit, Contact. I am happy to have work from my UV project included.
Wow
April 17, 2009
I know I have been MIA for a while, however sometimes life takes precedence over blogging. Once I am caught up, (which may be never!) hopefully I devote some more attention to GG. But I could not resist posting this work featured in today’s Times. I have one word: Jealous! I have been fantasising about doing still lifes in the machines at the airport that scan you bags at security. Well I missed my chance. Satre Stuelke, a former SVA art professor now in med school used CAT scan technology to capture children’s toys and small electronics. You can see more at his website.
CALL FOR ENTRIES IS OPEN!!!
April 2, 2009
I am pleased to announce that the WIPNYC – LIGHTSIDE Individual Project Grant is now open! You have until May 1st to do your online entry form. We invite all female photographers to apply who have a project that needs funding. Exhibitions, books, travel for shooting, film, equipment are all acceptable requests for funding. The online application is easy and the $20 entrance payable with paypal.
Good luck! And thanks to our generous sponsor Lightside & LTI, LTI is my lab of choice and Lightside does my framing. I can vouch for the excellence of both.
A special thanks to Humble Arts, and Amani Olu & Dalton Rooney for getting our redesigned site up and running.
A Loss for the Photo World
March 30, 2009
Newsweek Photo
March 30, 2009
I am very excited to have work from my Singular Beauty series featured on Newsweek.com. The photo gallery is accompanied by an essay that touches on my personal motivations for making the work.
Just in Case
March 22, 2009
There are several calls for entry going on, if by chance you live under a rock and missed them here you go…
The Nymphoto Collective is pleased to announce its fourth group show and first call for entries to be exhibited at Sasha Wolf Gallery.
Nymphoto is looking for the best in female contemporary and emerging photography. Work will be curated by the core members of the collective, in conjunction with highly respected curator and gallery owner, Sasha Wolf. Works selected will be included in “Nymphoto Presents at Sasha Wolf Gallery” and be on view from May 23 to June 6, 2009. An artists reception will be held on Thursday, May 28, 2009, from 6 – 8PM. Sasha Wolf Gallery is located in lower Manhattan, conveniently located and easily accessible from both Chelsea and Dumbo, two of New York’s artistic centers. Info
The New York Photo Awards 2009 will once again honor talented photographers from all over the world whose exceptional work breaks new grounds visually, intellectually and aesthetically. The Awards will give these visual artists the opportunity to reach key decision makers in the photographic community and the editorial, fine art and commercial worlds. Submissions will be accepted starting March 2nd through May 1st, 2009. The Award winners will be announced in May during the second edition of the Festival. Apply here
And don’t forget the WIPNYC-Lightside Grant call for entries begins April 1st, 2009. The link to apply online and sumissions guidelines will be posted then at wipnyc.org.
Also, the Burn Magazine Emerging Photographer Grant deadline has been extended to April 1. Go here for more info.
Lay Flat
March 17, 2009
I meet Shane Lavalette at last year’s NY Photofest. I was not only impressed with his knowledge of photography–I could not help but adore him–he is both genuine and intelligent. So I was honored when he asked me to be a contributor to Lay Flat. Of course I was even more flattered when I saw my list of fellow essayists.
One Credo After Another
by Tim Davis
Close Readings
by Darius Himes
The Secessionists Revisited: Artist Collectives in the Age of the Blog
by Cara Phillips
A Telephone Conversation with Mike Mandel
by Shane Lavalette
The Crisis of Experience
by Eric William Carroll
Castaways vs. Utopians
by Jason Fulford
Yesterday my copy came in the mail, and I was both impressed and inspired by what Shane has done. It is not only a great visual presentation, the essay’s are thoughtful and add to the current discussion about the nature and meaning of contemporary photography. Also, each essay offers a unique and different viewpoint. I am even more excited to be a part of the project now that I have seen the final presentation.
I can’t wait to get some frames and create a LF installation piece for my apartment. I know we are struggling these days, but Lay Flat is well worth it.
Included Photographers:
Andreas Weinand, Anne Lass, Coley Brown, Debora Mittelstaedt, Ed Panar, Estelle Hanania, Gustav Almestål, Hiroyo Kaneko, Kamden Vencill, Mark McKnight, Michel Campeau, Nicolai Howalt & Trine Søndergaard, Nicola Kast, Nicholas Haggard, Shawn Records, Raimond Wouda, Richard Barnes, Thobias Fäldt, Whitney Hubbs and Yann Orhan.
Bernice Abbott
March 12, 2009
I have been a little removed from the blogosphere of late–between my part-time day job, the WIPNYC grant launch, and my own work, exhibitions, and events–there has not been much time to either blog or read blogs. I was surprised to see how far my post in response to Brain Ulrich’s “call to action” spread. There are good and bad things about blogging and the ways in which information gets regurgitated in the twitter world, but it was refreshing to see the variation of reactions. In the end, we all have to decide what our practice will be. There is really no one that can tell us how/what/who to photograph.
But personally, after seeing so much staged photography and overly digitized work at the fairs last week, I am longing for some images that are raw or reality-based. But perhaps that is because in my own practice I am fascinated by the tension between reality and the subjective choice of the photographer, and most of my work explores that schism.
So when I was fortunate enough to get a peek at Steidl’s new 2 volume retrospective of Bernice Abbott’s work, I was inspired. Her images manage to dance between the real & her personal take, in surprising and important ways.
You can purchase the book here and see an online gallery here. Enjoy.
Berenice Abbott
Chelsea Hotel, 222 West 23rd Street, 1936
WIPNYC – Annouces “Project Grant”
March 3, 2009
Amy & I are super excited to announce the first ever wipnyc grant. Yes, like the site, you must be a “women in photography” to apply. There will be a small $20 processing fee. Overall we are thrilled to be able to contribute to the art community this way. Will look forward to seeing all of the exciting projects, and as of April 1st, there will be more specific info on submitting.
Good luck!
WIPNYC – Lightside Individual Project Grant
Women in Photography, co-founded by Amy Elkins and Cara Phillips in June 2008 to showcase the works of female fine art photographers, is pleased to announce their first project grant, funded by Lightside Photographic Services/ and co-sponsored by LTI. The $3,000 grant award will provide funding to one photographer to support project costs.
GRANT: $3000.00. One grant will be awarded
APPLICATION PROCESS OPENS: Wednesday April 1, 2009 12am
Link to online application will be made available on wipnyc.org.
DEADLINE: FRIDAY, MAY 1, 2009, 12AM
GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT: JUNE 10, 2009
Grant announcement will be made at evening event at the National Arts Club, Grand Gallery. There will be a reception for the grant winner and a slideshow presentation of their work. The Grant winner’s work will be featured in a wipnyc.org online solo showcase opening on 6/16/09.
APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY
Applications will be only be accepted from photographers who are at least 18 years old, and who are NOT currently enrolled in any full-time or part-time degree program.
PROJECT ELIGIBILITY
Projects submitted for consideration can be new or ongoing. Applicants should submit no more than one proposal in support for one project.
REVIEW PROCESS
WIP’s curatorial staff, Amy Elkins & Cara Phillips will review projects for visual & conceptual strength, rigor of purpose, and clarity of stated
project goals.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
WIPNY will only accept online submissions.
Applicants must submit exactly five images. Each image must be:
JPEG format
72dpi
sRGB
650 pixels wide
Contact Info
BIO (Under 200 words)
CV
**Please direct all grant submission questions to the email address which will be made available as APRIL 1, 2009**
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Describe the project in 300 words or less* ( IN PLACE OF ARTISTS STATEMENT)
Please include: Project start date, or in progress staus. Estimated finish date?*
Please provide a detailed list of expenses. Itemize each expense and provide a dollar amount.*
Please list any estimated income or other funding sources.*
–
Women In Photography
co-curated by Amy Elkins and Cara Phillips
WIPNYC is a Humble Arts Foundation project.
Fun with Feminism
February 24, 2009
I will be out of town this weekend, but if you are interested in growing your brain, this sounds like the ticket.
Download entry form backtothefuture
Call for Participants
BACK TO THE FUTURE…
AN EXPERIMENTAL DISCUSSION ON CONTEMPORARY FEMINIST PRACTICE…
TIME: 6.30pm, Saturday, February 21st, 2009
PLACE: Fifth Floor galleries, Whitney Museum of American Art
RSVP Required. Reservations on a first come, first served basis.
BACK TO THE FUTURE was organized by Jen Kennedy, an art historian, and Liz Linden, an artist.
They are both currently participants in the Whitney Independent Study Program. At this town-hall-style public discussion, participants will be asked to engage in a temporally specific, group experiment aimed at frank dialogue about the feminisms of our day. Relying on a provisional, substitutive vocabulary, our event aims to explore terrain that is not circumscribed by the semantics and tactics of past positions by looking at what, in our contemporary conception of feminism-as-lived-practice, we hold to be intrinsic, innate, and unique.
The Nature & Purpose of Photography
February 23, 2009
Brian Ulrich had an excellent post recently on why photographers are not recording the the current economic crisis. His post has generated 47 comments so far and it seems to have struck a nerve. I find it interesting that on one hand there is a debate raging over whether we should incorporate unfolding current events into our work, and on the other, the Andrew Kreps Gallery current exhibition To Be Determined–focuses on work that deals directly with the medium of photography. While several of these artists I individually admire, collectively, at this moment, having a show about photography, does seem out of step. Time Out New York said this:
The cerebral queries posed here spring from pioneering 20th-century photographers (Moholy-Nagy, James Welling, Richard Prince), but fail to break any new ground themselves. One has to hope that this current generation of photographers will ultimately choose to define itself by means other than a few tired lines of inquiry. What form those fresh ideas might take is clearly still, as the title of the exhibition suggests, to be determined.
Ouch! This genre of work has been championed by Blind Spot, which coincidentally is hosting an event for this show this week. In the last 5 to 7 years, this type of work has dominated–one name says it all–Roe Ethridge (however, the Soth-style {aka Sternfeld/Shore/Myerwitz} of portrait-scape has also been a force, but it has focused more on the set-up Crewdson stylistic version, which is also less content driven.)
In an age of cultural complacency, during which we elected GW twice, and few of us took to the streets to protest, Iraq, Guantanamo, the Patriot Act, or the dramatic and rapid disparity which expanded between the rich & the poor, work that doubles back on itself and shied away from engagement with the world made sense. But we are in a new era, and maybe Brian’s battle cry, which is being sounded by many major art critics in slightly different terms, has something to it. As artists, it is our responsibility to be continuously questioning what makes a photograph art, especially in a world not only filled with copious amounts of commercial and amateur imagery but that is also overflowing with fine-art photography. It is important I think at this moment to pause and question, what is more important–making a photograph that will be deemed “art” or making a photograph that can be powerful and that affect how people view the world. Will post-post modernism mean that we can re-unite these concepts?
Many photographers currently worry about getting stuck in the “photo ghetto.” Meaning once your work is represented by a photo gallery, you are stuck as ‘just a photographer.’ The insinuation being that you will be considered ‘less of an artist.’ Photography still hovers in a strange place in the art world. If your work is photo-based, it is a good way to differentiate yourself from the rank & file. However, if this is done merely as a way to get ahead in the art market, most likely the result will be all surface. The best work centering on the photographic process, often incorporates multiples levels of engagement. For instance Penelope Umbrico’s appropriation work , not only plays with authorship, it includes complex cultural critique, and an exploration of human desire.
With all this ruminating in my mind, I came across these photos on National Geographic.com of an 1908 National Geographic article on the survey of Alaska. What I like about them, is that they remind me of the incredible power of the photograph to transcend its original purpose. These images were taken to record a scientific exhibition, yet 100 years later, they could just as easily be a meditation on the landscape genre. Grainy, muted and strange, they are quite beautiful. Sometimes, perhaps we try so hard to imbue meaning and concept into our photographs that we actually close down this process, and in fact make them more empty. There is a fine line between too much content and too much concept.
Radcliffe Hordern
Photographs by E. R. Martin
