via photo

Killed: Rejected Images of the Farm Security Administration

2010-10-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

There is a recently released photobook that deserves some attention, it is titled "Killed: Rejected Images of the Farm Security Administration." It is 157 images from the Farm Security Administration that have been "killed" by Roy Stryker. The images were compiled by a William E. Jones, and seem to show a side to main stream life that was intentionally "killed" from the public. My copy of the book is in the mail, in which I will comment on the essays prefacing the photographs, but as of right now descriptions are stating that what is shown is photographic evidence of a mainstream homosexual culture in America during the days of the Depression. A statement from the book by Jones says, “Many (perhaps even most) viewers would find in the archive not a trace of homosexuality, but I refused to believe that it was completely absent from the visual record of the Great Depression. An historical queer presence must have been documented, if only unconsciously or accidentally, by the photographers of the FSA.” Jones also speaks about the current status of the American economy today, suggesting that we wont ever accept that we are in a depression until a picture proves it to us. I'm not sure that it's quite that bad, but he does make some valid points about the relationship photography has to the acceptance of reality. Anyways, there is only 1000 copies in this first edition, so get your hands on it if you see it! More to come once the book gets here......

"Notorious and Notable: 20th Century Women of Style" at the Museum of the City of New York

2010-10-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

I think most people are suckers for a great fashion exhibit, especially myself. New York has seen its fair share of great fashion exhibits this summer, from the Brooklyn Museum to the Met, there were some amazing women's fashions on show in the past few months. But the Museum of the City of New York has taken an different spin on their fashion exhibit of the year, first of all, the fabulous outfits are organized by color, not period, and are shown as though walking down a runway. Second, most of the dresses you get to see have been worn by one of New York's fabulous females, from the likes of Jackie O to Lauren Bacall to Barbara Walters.A total of 80 women of New York's society, art, and politics were represented in the fashions shown.

...I think a good stroll in a fantastic fashion exhibit is just as good as a chick flick on a friday night..... check it out if you get the chance!!

worn by Rosamund Bernier

worn by Bernice Chrysler Garbisch

worn by Ethel Scull

worn by Gypsy Rose Lee

worn by Isadora Duncan

JR's new project Trailer, "Women are Heroes"

2010-10-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

TRAILER " WOMEN ARE HEROES" from SOCIAL ANIMALS on Vimeo.

Artist/Photographer JR wins 2011 TED Prize!

2010-10-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

The fabulous "guerilla" street artist JR has been awarded the 2011 TED prize, winning $100,000! JR goes into then slums in cities such as Paris, as well as parts of the Middle East and Africa and takes photographs of the local people, in which he blows up to billboard size that get put up around the city. He focuses on images of women in some of the cities in Africa, and on the struggle between Palestinians and Israeli's within the Middle East, and by doing so is highlighting the "local hero"within those neighborhoods. The images are incredibly moving as is the project as a whole, and really show the power that photography can have within a public space. I love it!! Check out an interview/video on the artist on the TED blog here: http://blog.ted.com/2010/10/20/meet-jr/

Simone Lueck

2010-10-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

These photographs are being shown in Los Angeles, CA at the Kopeikin Gallery.

I am new to this photographer, however after reading the premise to the works, she reminds me of a cross between Alex Prager and Katy Grannan, which can make for some interesting images. I think my favorite might be the woman on the Tiger rug....

"The artist placed ads on Craigslist and in newspapers in various US cities soliciting older woman to pose as glamorous movie stars. The pictures are collaborations: Each participant is asked to provide her own makeup, hair and wardrobe. As active players in the affair, the women are able to shape their individual portrayal. The shows are fantasies, and the performance reflects each woman's perception of glamour."

Alison Rossiter at Yossi Milo Gallery

2010-10-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

Photograms at their best! At first I walked in thinking there was a painting exhibition going on, but as I walked up to the first piece you could see the corners of the photo paper curling and the beautiful tones on the edges of the exposure lines.They were created on expired vintage photo paper, and she pours the developer onto the paper, as though forming a painting in the darkroom.

I'm new to this photographer, but I'm going to find out more, absolutely stunning work, a wonderful Chelsea find!

Alison Rossiter, Reduction

September 23, 2010–October 30, 2010

Laura Letinsky at Yancey Richardson Gallery

2010-10-21T17:27:00.001-07:00

Tradition and Modernity in flux: Visual Binaries in Contemporary Iranian Photography {A series of Dissertation Images}

2010-10-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

Shadi Ghadirian, Qajar Series

Shirin Aliabadi, Miss Hybrid

Shadi Ghadirian, Qajar Series

Houra Yaghoubi, Who is my generation?

Katayoun Karami , The Other side

Katayoun Karami, The other side

Shadi Ghadirian, Like Everyday Series

Shirin Neshat, Fervor

Shirin Neshat, Women of Allah

Shirin Neshat, Fervor

Shirin Neshat, The Last Word

Roya Falahi

Houra Yagoubi, Who is my generation?

Adobe's new virtual museum

2010-10-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how I feel about this one yet, but check it out. if anything its kind of cool.

museum

article

Sharon Core, 2007

2010-10-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

represented by Yancy Richardson Gallery
she photographs the food that she grows in her own garden in upstate NY. Her show is called "Early American" and she says that her main inspiration for these photographs come from the 19th century painter Raphaelle Peale. On show at the gallery at Hermes in New York until December!

interview here: Sharon Core Interview

Gohar Dashti

2010-10-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

titled, Today's Life and War

Contemporary Iranian Photographer, lives and works in Iran

Dashti shows a multitude of photographs in this series that as a whole depict the complex relationship between the daily experiences and the internal psychic experiences of a young Iranian couple. She is exploring the persistence of trauma that is ever present in post War Iran. Instead of suggesting that the couple lives in a war zone, Dashti uses battlefield imagery imposing onto images of the domestic environment to heighten the representation of the trauma that results from the violence of war. It shows a unique perspective, one often disregarded in the media imagery that constructs many of our misinterpretations about contemporary Iran.

Hanna Liden.....images of blown out candles

2010-10-01T17:21:00.000-07:00

i love the simplicity in these, when i first saw them they were small and i thought they were a weird digital abstraction, once i made them bigger i realised what they were, but that initial reaction still holds, except for the weird digital part....

peter hujar, 1985

2010-10-01T17:16:00.001-07:00

Jeff Bark at Hasted Hunt

2010-09-23T15:49:00.000-07:00

Jeff Bark Photography

Gay servicemen and women talk about life under 'don't ask, don't tell'

2010-09-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

Gay servicemen and women talk about life under 'don't ask, don't tell'

Puppies as Fonts!!

2010-09-20T11:43:00.001-07:00

http://thedailywh.at/post/450237225/sure-why-not-of-the-day-typefaces-as-dog

baseball photographer trading cards

2010-09-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.amazon.com/Baseball-photographer-trading-cards-Mandel/dp/B0007AJ8VK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1285007819&sr=8-2

anyone have $5000 ? this is a def WANT

2009-10-07T23:48:00.001-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/arts/design/08penn.html

risd alum!

2009-09-27T15:32:00.001-07:00

a little thought from a book on Mapplethorpes X portfolio...

2009-09-20T15:38:00.001-07:00

"..one need not literally become what an artwork represents in order to find it good. This is the great fear of fundamentalists who condemn "obscene art." They believe that appreciating it is being it, and they fear that the seductiveness of this art will transform them against their will. Even the most liberal of us have had this anxiety. Despite our knowing the difference between a story and reality, art and real life, we have at times been unwillingly "invaded" by works of art. We should not fear art either for corrupting our reality or blunting it."

- Wendy Steiner

2009-09-19T15:43:00.001-07:00

Interactive museum space!

2009-09-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

The interactive room in the British Galleries of the Victoria and Albert Museum. You can tell that we were more interested in trying on the petticoats and corsets than finding photographs to talk about. You can't see it, but there was a building blocks set behind me of the crystal palace so that you could build your own. As you can tell, that petticoat was not easy to get on.

!

2009-09-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

The first photography exhibit held in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Blind images

2009-09-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

" On the first day, we worked dramatically, excitingly, in black and white , and on the second day with colour, using digital cameras, beautifully, contemplatively, in the gardens, chasing the penumbra of the total eclipse of the sun.

We found endless avenues of photographic exploration and the possibility of universal participation in this particular artistic field."

-Christine Kugele

Christine has no useful sight.

These were hidden in the benches of the Victoria and Albert's "photography wing." Yes they are a little boring to look at, but also intriguing at the same time. If blind people can see this much beauty in the world maybe the world would be a better place with a little missing sight.

The National Art Library

2009-09-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

So the National Art Library is located in the Victoria and Albert Museum, it is a magnificent place as you can see. The annoying part is that you can't check anything out!! You can use the books there, but it's a little annoying to not be able to bring the wonderful books home with me! I have a feeling that this place will be my main hang out place next summer. I'm not super bummed about that seeing as it's not so shabby. I snuck these photos because there was this crazy scary security guard/ welcome lady to at the entrance of the library who basically was mean if you made noise and probably would've thrown me out if she saw I was taking photographs, because the world is scared of photographs these days. You'd think the brits would be used to being on camera seeing as they're on public camera 90% of their day. just a thought....

anyways, just wanted to share the beautiful library goodness

2009-09-19T02:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/arts/design/13cott.html

coolest library ever

2009-09-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

for book lovers everywhere....

http://theartblog.org/2009/07/a-new-library-an-exhibition-of-book-design-and-a-bookstore-the-best-contemporary-art-in-amsterdam-at-the-moment/#more-8702

stolen art!

2009-09-12T06:03:00.001-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/11/10-warhol-paintings-stole_n_284257.html

F. Holland Day , 1889

2009-09-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

An image we went over in class today that i felt was pretty powerful. I have a lot to say about it, probably too much. But for right now just some contemplation and I wanted to get it out there. A lot of the power comes from knowing the biography of the artist and I think its very important to know because artist work from their emotions, and knowing something that could cause a spike in their emotions can help you understand the work on a deeper level. In the case of this work, i think it is particularly important.

1722

2009-09-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

A passage from the french novel Giphantie written in 1772 :

"Some paces from the noisy globe, the earth is hollowed, and there appears a descent of forty or fifty steps of turf; at the foot of which there is a beaten subterraneaous path. We went in; and my guide, after leading me through several dark turnings, brought me at last to the light again.

He conducted me into a hall of middling size, and not much adorned, where I was struck with a sight that raised my astonishment. I saw, out of a window, a sea which seemed to me to be about a quarter of a mile distant. The air, full of clouds, transmitted only pale light which forebodes a storm: the raging sea ran mountains high, and the shore was whitened with the foam of the billows which broke on the beach.

By what miracle (said I to myself) has the air, serene a moment ago, been so suddenly obscured? By what miracle do I see the ocean in the center of Africa? Upon saying these words, I hastily ran out of the window, I knocked it against something that felt like a wall. Stunned with the blow, and still more with so many mysteries, I drew back a few paces.

Thy hurry (said the prefect) occasions thy mistake. That window, that vast horizon, those thick clouds, that raging sea, are all but a picture."

2009-09-07T13:13:00.001-07:00

goodbye new york, hello london

2009-08-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

So I'm off across the pond tomorrow for a year of exploring the photo world of London, while also trying to get a grasp of the fascinating world behind the big doors of Sotheby's. The book list I received a few weeks ago already excites me for what is to come of this year. Seeing that the concept of going to grad school at the moment has become almost a survival tactic of the recession; I am avoiding the idea that I am missing out on all the fun of finding a job at the moment. Don't worry, my time will come.

I am eager to explore this new world and the new ideas of a whole new group of peers. I am hoping that they will both inspire and challenge my thoughts on photography in the next fourteen months. That I will begin to see differently, in a more informed and passionate manner while also, hopefully, doing the same for them.

But for now, I leave with a thought by one of my favorite writers on the topic of graduate school:

"My optimum solution would be to to abolish graduate studies in art altogether. Failing this, one might just avoid it. Try Raymond Pettibon's trajectory: grow up in a literary family in a beach house full of books, get a degree in economic, teach math, draw posters for your brothers band, hang out and get discovered. Or Josiah McElheny's trajectory: study sculpture and anthropology as an undergraduate, become interested in single source traditions like glassblowing, go to Venice to study that tradition, learn to blow glass from the masters and start making art. Or, as a last resort, try the solution my classmate Gilbert Shelton fell upon. Gilbert and his co-conspirators went up to the art department at the University of Texas every day and painted Abstract Expressionism. Every night they came home and drew underground comic books. When they had enough pages, they founded Zap Comix and moved to San Francisco. Finally, they moved to Paris, where they still draw comics.

All these strategies seem riskier and more circuitous than graduate school, but they don't hurt nearly as much. They don't include cinderblock walls. There are no creepy has beens with sour admonitions or nincompoops in the food court. Also, in the egg and spoon race for artistic recognition, you are a thousand times more likely to get there with your egg if you avoid graduate school. More critically, if you want to be an artist and you must go to graduate school, you must bring your own egg, your talisman, your jones, your touchstone in the larger culture, something you love, even if it's just an old Hobie or a street tag or Jane's Addiction. You need something whose loss you will notice when it begins to slip away, something to serve as a hedge against opacity, because it's not just about you, it's about bringing the fire from wherever you found it to an art world that needs it. "

Dave Hickey, Art in America