matthieu gafsou

a very sophisticated eye is that of french-swiss photographer matthieu gafsou. i specially enjoy the surface work. for those who speak a bit of french, a note from his project:

"Surfaces n’est pas uniquement un projet documentaire. A mon sens, les photographies – captations tronquées – redoublent l’échec
des expériences: de par sa nature, le medium incarne cette tension entre la proximité du sujet et son éloignement. Il est un dédoublement du point de vue, une métaphore de ma propre incapacité à saisir
le monde. Il a aussi le pouvoir de la transfiguration. Les sujets photographiés dans la série se donnent déjà comme des simulacres, ils ne sont que des mirages destinés à faire illusion. La photographie, elle-même simulacre, vient dédoubler l’artifice et, partant, permet aussi d’y réfléchir, et peut-être d’en comprendre quelque-chose. Mais il s’agit aussi de faire de la matière empirique un nouvel objet, autonome, sculptural. Peut-être est-ce en les transformant que l’on parle le mieux des choses. Parce que l’on assume alors notre présence d’observateur cloisonné dans un corps et un esprit qui sont les vecteurs (créateurs?) de la réalité".

posted over in photo découverte

take a look here.

last days of w

i just received my newspaper and i like the idea.

parallels; lizeth arauz and livia corona

two mexican photographers covering a similar subject, but each with a unique vision. lizeth arauz and livia corona examine the life of little people in mexico. a much explored subject, but with an evident commitment to portray a way of life can be seen from both.



here is a text about lizeths work...in spanish:
Mirar hacia arriba
No es lo mismo mirar hacia arriba que hacia abajo. Ser diferente determina la relación con el entorno y la manera de concebirlo, representa la lucha constante por obtener un espacio, un lugar.
Mirar hacia arriba habla sobre la vida de un grupo de hombres y mujeres enanos que trabajan como toreros, luchadores, payasitos, y bailarines, y que lidian con la gracia y la necesidad de ser reconocidos.
Entender el sentido del otro, y del respeto a las identidades diferentes, con el reconocimiento al esfuerzo de adaptación a un entorno organizado y pensado para personas de estatura alta. Son la gente pequeña. Saben que su mundo se teje lejos al de la gente alta. More images here.




from livia coronas web site: "In the absence of support organizations in Mexico created by and for little people, the Enanitos Toreros shows have, as an accidental side-effect, served as an itinerant meeting ground for individuals and families of children with dwarfism. Many people told me that these shows were their first-ever opportunity to engage with others who share their physical characteristics. This book, with photographs and interviews made over the course of almost a decade, documents some of the experiences, relationships, and family ties that have formed throughout the years. By presenting these images and conversations, made in their homes and at their workplaces, on their tours and in some cases at their specific request, I hope to share a perspective on the relativity of scale and physical appearance".

alex harris

mr alex harris shows us a new way to look at the such over seen subject of havana, cuba.

juliana beasley

incredible images made with wit.

Dystopia: A Group Show

i´ll be participating in a great group show in February at Robert Koch gallery in San Francisco. If you are in town do drop by.




SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA-- Bankruptcy. Isolation. Surveillance. Poverty. Pollution. Contemporary photographs thematically unified by various dystopic visions will be on view at Robert Koch Gallery with artists presenting and responding to current financial, environmental, and political upset. This exhibition will feature works by Benoit Aquin, Ken Botto, Jeff Brouws, Alejandro Cartagena, Colin Finlay, Matthias Geiger, Richard Gordon, Nadav Kander, Shai Kremer, Brian Ulrich, and Michael Wolf.

last nights opening of DESCENTRALIZADO

second favorite. JA! i can use somebody

my favorite new song, sex is on fire!

la sx-70 de polaroid...un gran anuncio

encontre en la página de lens culture este increibl anuncio de polaroid.

stephen chalmers

allen, carroll, gerald, gunnar, jacobson, cosner, peranteau, stapley, bond, bond jr., o´connor, dubs

stephen chalmers images are beauty fixed with an underline of shock:

DUMPSITES
Images of locations in the west where serial killers have disposed of the bodies of their victims, located through Freedom of Information Act searches, police reports, true-crime novels, and other sources..

daniel traub

i really like how Daniels´ work is all interrelated, making his bodies of work more profound.

taller básico comienza el 7 de febrero

more views of the pause to begin show

coming soon: humble arts The Collector's Guide to Emerging Art Photography

Curated by Alana Celii, Jon Feinstein & Grant Willing
Introduction by Ruben Natal–San Miguel

The Collector's Guide is an invite only, unique 180–page source book distributed to collectors, art dealers, gallery directors, photo editors, museum professionals, and independent curators. Published biennially, The Collector's Guide aims to further Humble's mission by bridging the gap between ambitious early-career photographers and often-unapproachable photography professionals and art institutions.

Ideally, the 163 photographers featured in this publication will move on to find their work in private collections, represented by reputable galleries and included in group exhibitions. The Collector's Guide will also serve as a resource for photo editors, helping to attract assignments to featured photographers.

The Collector's Guide is not a traditional consumer-based art photography book. Instead, this source book is a complimentary guide for collectors and photography industry professionals.


Featured photographers: 163
Trim Size: 10.25 x 13 in.
Binding: Perfect bound, softcover
Pages: 180

una breve entrevista que le hicieron a gerardo montiel en una visita que hizo a guadalajara hace unos años donde habla sobre la fotografía mexicana

¿Cuál es el estado de la fotografía contemporánea mexicana?

La fotografía mexicana goza de uno de los mejores momentos. Hay mucha gente joven generando propuestas muy interesantes. Están apareciendo lugares especializados en fotografía. Están las becas para los jóvenes creadores que son todo un andamiaje que está haciendo decantar en propuestas muy interesantes. Donde todavía hay serios problemas es en la difusión, con lo que me refiero a publicaciones sistemáticas, que se haga un análisis serio de lo que ha pasado en los últimos 20 años en la fotografía mexicana.

En un panorama tan amplio como el de la fotografía mexicana, ¿cómo marcar las líneas de los autores que destacan?

Es la gente que está ganando premios no sólo a nivel nacional, que está siendo referencia de las jóvenes generaciones. Esos son los fotógrafos significativos, emblemáticos, y en los últimos diez años han surgido varios que son referencia obligada: la continuidad de Gerardo Suter, la revalorización del nuevo documentalismo con Ivonne Venegas, Federico Gamma, Maya Goded. También Teresa Margolles, que ha desarrollado gran parte de trabajo teniendo como soporte la fotografía, y Mauricio Alejo que está muy instalado en circuitos internacionales de galerías.

¿Consideras que la fotografía es una de las expresiones artísticas más sólidas dentro de la historia del arte mexicano?

Siento que estuvo relegada hasta los setenta, pero estoy convencido de que ahora es una de las partes más interesantes dentro de la producción nacional. Hablamos de nuevos valores, de presencia internacional de los autores; lo cual es bastante ventajoso si se habla de que la pintura, que se encuentra en una especie de impasse, ya no tiene tanta vitalidad como hace 40 años, cosa que sí sucede con la fotografía.

¿Existe una identidad de la fotografía mexicana?

Lo que se pensaba antes, y todavía en varias partes del extranjero, es que la fotografía mexicana tiene que tener los elementos de lo mexicano: el maguey, el burrito, el indio. Estamos muy lejos de eso. La mexicana es una fotografía muy madura, desde mi punto de vista, de avanzada, con los estándares para estar en cualquier colección del mundo.

Se exhiben mundos completamente diferentes, ¿qué es lo que podría unificar a la fotografía mexicana?

Creo que no existe un punto que pueda unificarla. Son autores que nacieron en México o que se han afincado en este país. Algo que unifique es muy complicado, porque México es muchos Méxicos: desde el trabajo de Daniela Rossell de Ricas y famosas hasta el trabajo de Mauricio Alejo que se desencadena en galerías del extranjero. Es tan disímbolo que no se puede unificar.

¿Cuáles son los puntos débiles?

Las publicaciones sistemáticas y un aparato especializado en crítica, análisis y difusión; de eso adolece y es grave. Vemos propuestas jóvenes, pero no vemos curadores jóvenes especializados en fotografía.

¿Hacía qué rumbo se dirige?

Hacía una revalorización de sí misma, a exigir publicaciones especializadas, espacios de difusión; porque ahora curiosamente es muy difícil exponer. Encontrar lugares donde se abran las puertas es cada vez más complicado. Vamos a ver mucha fotografía mexicana fuera.

Karla Bañuelos Sáenz/Guadalajara

aron covaliu/ descentralizado/jueves 22 en el CCF1116

Descentralizar el centro, y convertirlo en una mirada ironizada sobre lo superficial que es el símbolo de un centro histórico es lo que logramos observar en las imágenes de Aron Covaliu. El proyecto se desprende de la ya esteriotipada mirada del barrio antiguo de Monterrey. Pareciera que lo más fotografiable de este lugar es que posee un concepto erróneo o inmediato de lo que puede ser “artístico”, y es por eso que resulta recurrente su inclusión en muchos trabajos de estudiantes de fotografía. Pero lo que hace Aron tiene una raíz mucho más profunda.
Partiendo de la idea de que es este espacio el que posee la mayor historia de la ciudad, es obvio que Aron, como extranjero, buscará respuestas ahí sobre la ciudad que le daría hospedaje. Es así que se dedicó a recorrer las calles del centro de Monterrey en busca de respuestas que al final se nos presentan como preguntas sobre que es en realidad un centro histórico en nuestra sociedad actual.
Se puede observar en su trabajo, contextualizándolo en la fotografía mexicana contemporánea, que como otros fotógrafos, el también usa el paisaje urbano como metáfora de nuestra sociedad. Alcanzamos a ver su obra compartiendo elementos con la de Ernesto Ramírez (México DF), David Corona (Guadalajara), Dante Busquets (México DF), Pablo López Luz (México DF) entre otros.
En conjunto, Aron Covaliu presenta imágenes que reflejan una idea generacional sobre los espacios de una ciudad y nos permite examinar si el tener historia, es realmente algo que los mexicanos podemos utilizar y referenciar para construir nuestro futuro inmediato.
alejandro cartagena enero 2009

catharine stebbins

catharine stebbins images are poetic in the way they reference space. from her statement:

"Intuition and memory profoundly shaped my experience of place. The genesis of this series began on childhood vacations, as my family crisscrossed the west in our station wagon on long summer vacations. The view through the backseat window became my portal into a world of imagination and possibility, where time stood still as the vast open spaces slid by in stop motion, framed like natural dioramas. When we stopped, I’d climb out of the car, walk into the desert and sit where I could touch the rocks and feel the emptiness. The tiniest detail brought the limitless space into sharp focus, pushing me to discover what was happening ahead, hidden beyond the horizon; beautiful empty places that I knew could reveal secrets".

tom benedek

i like the way screen writer and photographer tom benedeck finds a middle ground to mix both of his passions.

rebecca schrock

we relate to our space in many levels, but those spaces where we permit ourselves to leisure, are contrived in ways that make us feel safe and untied. rebecca schrocks images are interesting to me in the sense that they portray this.

descentralizado

esta es la segunda exposición que "curo". aron nos presenta una serie de imagenes que hablan, de una manera un tanto ironica, de como el centro de una ciudad se convierte en un cliché y pasa a ser un conjunto de historias hibridas. vayan a verla, es muy buena!

museum pictures

is there really much more to say about how people visit or work in a museum? it seems to be that even after thomas struth successful series "museum photographs" more and more images continue to arise out of the subject. some examples:


thomas struth


Andy Freeberg


Max Hirshfeld


russ quackenbush

john abbott

i like the simplicity of john abbotts images. from his statement:

Inspired by the minimalist work of Harry Callahan, Elimination represents an escape, a fantasy, a world in a vacuum. My effort to strip away, to simplify, to eliminate complications, complexities and distractions. To caste the world in stark black and white, no grey area, no middle ground, the bare minimum. To focus solely on what I decide, what I want you to see, the right answer, nothing else. It's done. Pure line and form. My message. My truth. Clear and unambiguous. I show my wife. She looks, then speaks. "What is it?"

christina seely

about her Lux project:

"Lux For millions of years only dramatic shifts in terrain informed the reading of the earth’s surface from space. Now the cumulative light from highly urbanized areas creates a new type of information and understanding of the world that reflects human’s dominance over the planet. Lux, titled after the system unit for measuring illumination, presents photographic portraits of cities within the most brightly illuminated regions on the NASA map of the night earth. This project is inspired by the disconnect between the immense beauty produced by man-made light and the complexity of what this light represents. Lux, focuses on cities in the United States, Western Europe and Japan. These economically and politically powerful regions not only have the greatest impact on the night sky but this brightness reflects a dominant cumulative impact on the planet. Collectively they emit approximately 45% of the world's CO2 and (along with China) act as the top consumers of electricity, energy and resources. In order to suggest the interchangeability of urbanization and the unilateral impact of these cities on the global environment each photographed location in the series, is indicated by the central latitude and longitude of the depicted city and is simply titled Metropolis. For most of human history, man-made light has signified hope and progress within local and global arenas. In this project, light also paradoxically denotes regression or transgression -- an index of the complex negative human impacts on the health and future of the planet. Since I began this project in 2004, public dialogue about global warming and energy consumption has increased exponentially. The Lux project connects with myriad efforts to grapple with these issues".

anne whiston spirn

i really felt identified with annes´ work and the idea of pursuing the making of images parting from a theoretical idea. from her vision statement:

"Noticing something makes me see something I hadn’t seen, helps me discover what cannot be seen directly or only at a different scale, from another point of view, and that prompts me to question, seek answers, and find connections among what is seemingly unrelated. Seeing is a creative act.

Landscapes are living and dynamic, not static, full of dialogue and drama. I am drawn to photograph a landscape as one might photograph a person: to capture its distinctive spirit, to reveal its history, to show the contexts that shape it. There are few people in my photographs, but their traces and the stories they tell are everywhere: in the landforms they shape, the paths they make, the soil they till and the plants they tend, the structures they build, the places they dwell.

I want to discover what is there, hidden and real, to understand why and how things come about and to imagine what they might be. I want to inspire others to see the extraordinary in the everyday, to pause and look deeply at the surface of things, and also beyond that surface to the stories landscapes tell, to the processes that shape human lives and communities, the earth, and the universe and all who dwell there".

monika merva

monikas´ portraits are strong and compelling. view them here.

dana miller

danas´ images stand between the snapshot and the exploration of form. take a look here.

from her statement:

"I am drawn to the seductive and surreal qualities of nature, especially in relation to culture. I am interested in how we relate to nature, how we try to shape and contain it, and its ability to grow wild despite our best attempts to confine it. I use photography to explore how these layers of both wildness and containment develop in the landscape, whether urban, suburban, or exurban".

megan cump

take a look at megans´ website.

from her statement:

"My photographs fuse a gothic sensibility and performative elements with traditional landscape imagery, in order to explore the metaphoric potential of the environment. My most recent project, Feral, was shot while on solitary kayaking and hiking trips, using a medium format camera and basic camping supplies. In many works, traces of my body are visible as I merge with, take refuge in, and lose myself in the natural world. In some scenes my body is dwarfed by the primordial landscape, as if swallowed up by nature; in others I dissolve myself, in a rush of water, or am nearly engulfed in a creeeping fog. Many photographs reveal evidence of some seemingly paranormal event—a fire burning in a river or an ambiguous, intimate encounter with a fox. Through these enigmatic photographs, boundaries shift, blurring the line between human and landscape, and human and animal".

lori nix

i met lori nix outside review la this past weekend. she is a lovely person and i was amazed at her art work, which she showed me through her web page, but when i saw it live in photo la, i realized what a great artist she is. apart from creating eerie scenarios, that are beautifully lit, she is one excellent printer. i love when works i see on the web become even more impressive when seen in real scale. it just makes it a more intense experience. from the text on her web:

"Lori Nix is an artist who bends the line between truth and illusion in her photographs. She accomplishes this by photographing miniatures and models which illuminate her interest in the disaster movies of the 1970s and her memories of growing up in Kansas—a place that seems to attract disasters like no other. In her series titled Accidentally Kansas Nix creates scenes of floods, tornadoes, snow storms, lightning strikes, and insect infestations, all epic and defining events recalled from her formative years in rural Kansas. The state of Kansas is located in the middle of the United States geographically, and also represents the moral middle of the road as a state of mind where conventional family values and good citizenship go hand in hand. By linking disasters with moral imperatives Nix allows herself to question conventional codes of society at the same time as she explores the unsettling memories of her youth".

leadapron

if you are interested in collectible photo books and you´re in the los angeles area, visit the leadapron book gallery. they have the most amazing books ever! so don´t miss out if your around LA.

review la

again i come out of a portfolio review event feeling great and overwhelmed at the same time. i left with many suggestions, appraises and proposals that i hope work out through out the year. my list of reviewers:

Charlotte Cotton, Curator of Photography, LACMA
Laura Addison, Curator of Contemp. Art, NM Museum of Art
John Rohrbach, Senior Curator of Photographs, Carter Museum
Amber Terranova, Photo Editor, Photo District News
Darius Himes, Co-Founder and Editor, Radius Books
Ann Pallesen, Gallery Director, Photographic Center NW
Stella Kramer, Photographer Consultant and lecturer
Mary Virginia Swanson, Marketing Consultant
Anthony Bannon, Director, George Eastman House

all of the reviewers where concise and open about their thoughts on my suburbia mexicana project and i enjoyed my time with them.

lacma

we made our way last week in LA to the LACMA museum and really enjoyed the space and exhibitions. the story of photography show had incredible prints, including one by carleton watkins that just blew my mind. if your in the area don't miss it!

karin apollonia muller

really liked karins images of the on the edge series. reminded me a bit of how mexico city looks like from pablo lopez luz lens. Karin has a book coming out in nazraeli press. From the publisher:

On Edge is Karin Apollonia Müller’s second monograph, and the first to be published by Nazraeli Press. While Angels in Fall (2001) dealt with the disconnect between human beings and their environment, On Edge shows the earth “crumbling away”, and our futile efforts to control or hide the subtle invasion of nature into cultivated spaces. Working in color with a muted palette and low contrast, Müller creates powerful images which evoke a sense of displacement in keeping with the artist’s “visitor status” as a foreigner in Los Angeles.

a view of the pause to begin show

sanja thomsen

more over at sonja thomsens blog

we are in L A and it rocks