Recently, you might have read that I was burgled and lost a pretty nice camera. Well today I can report that I have corrected that with the purchase of a new camera. A Voigtlander Bessa R3A with a Nokton lens.

Its a classic rangefinder camera (similar to the Leica M series) that will work very well with my renewed interest in tri-x style (for lack of a better stylistic name) photography.

Just thought I'd share.

Also if I ever end a post with my photo tools, the way some people do, it would look like this.

[Voigtlander Bessa R3A, Polaroid Big Shot, Polaroid 420, Holga, Lomo] This will be the last time I ever put a footer of equipment at the bottom of a page - please get the joke, if not laugh along like you do, please....

Labels: Matthew Langley, Photography

Recently Glen O'Brien has become the co-editor of Interview magazine. I think that is a great choice by the publisher - a kind of prodigal son returns home kind of thing. One of the great things about a son returning home is that all his friends are going to start dropping in, this month it's Richard Prince, Christopher Wool, and Richard Hell.

Interview has RP photographing the actresses from the new Battlestar Galactica show. He has shot them in a way that directly points at some of his work - notably "Girlfriends". You might remember the "Girlfriends" as the biker girl photographs. I call theses images "The New Girlfriends" - Hollywood starlets wearing all the right clothing labels and attitudes - but not the same sense of freedom or even sexiness. It makes perfect sense now why the "Girlfriends" are stronger (and sexier) when re-photographed. Maybe RP should have had some bikers take the photos, and then photographed those. Offhanded joke aside, I'm not sure RP needs to be re-engineering his past work - it just seems like there is so much still to do.

I bought Interview at a news stand, I hope you live near a place that sells magazines.

Photo by: Richard Prince

Labels: Photography, Richard Prince, Warhol

I've been looking at a great deal of documentary and, for lack of a better phrase "street level art photography" lately, and I've realized that I am now starting to miss to look of Tri-X photography. Tri-X is a film developed by the Kodak Company that is highly light sensitive as well as amazingly stable - it (or it's variants) have a grain, and contrast that sets it apart from other films. It is this look, done with Tri-X or some other manufacturer's film that I am starting to miss.

I don't want this to be a digital vs. film thing, but would Robert Frank's The Americans be the same if it was shot digitally? The point is, I'm already missing that Tri-X look.

I'll try to elaborate more on this later.

Note for people with database like photographic knowledge: I'm not sure if The Americans was shot on Tri-X, frankly, I don't really care, the point I'm making is that I'm missing that documentary look of slightly grainy, contrasty, pushed 35mm film.

Labels: Photography

Let's start with this quote from Metafilter - by someone named krippledkonscious.

"I had to think a little bit about why this is so stirring. This is not a technical achievement, nor an endeavor that requires an inaccessible skill set. This is one thing, done once a day. Something so spare and ordinary, just taken to extraordinary lengths. A simple thing: whatever struck his fancy on a given day - just capture one thing on film. Simple."

The story that you have probably found by now is the tale of Jamie Livingston, a man who took a photograph every day from March 31, 1979 till the day he died October25, 1997. It chronicles his life and eventual demise - well worth looking seeking out.

Follow this link.

A tip of the hat to: http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.typepad.com

Labels: New York, Photography

Robert Rauschenberg died.

I have a number of things to say, but I cant until tomorrow.

Robert Rauschenberg in 1953. Photo by Allan Grant, Life Magazine © Time Warner Inc/Robert Rauschenberg/VAGA, New York/DACS, London

Labels: Death, Painting, Photography, Sculpture

Thanks for sticking with me today while I continue talking about William Christenberry's current show at the Katzen Art Center at American University. I have been thinking about a discussion that arises with the idea of the grid and how it relates to WC's art in an era that could be defined as reductive - by this I mean the early seventies and into the very early eighties, the early stages of his mature artistic output.

I have always thought of the work as documentary in style and presentation - while I still find this to be true, I'm starting to think about the serial nature of the places that are photographed in Christenberry's work. Why for instance have I seen more that 10 different versions of The Palmist Building, The Green Warehouse, Sprott Church, and The Bar-B-Q Inn. Certainly these images could create a grid of changes to the location or even a timeline of the same, however could we now start to see that structure as a formal 3 dimensional grid that could represent; image of the location, deterioration of the location, year of the location, anthropological uses of the location. An x,y, and z axis if you will. This grid (or cube) could now start to also work in other disciplines - his drawings, paintings, and sculptures of the locations (or details thereof) of said subject combined.

There is a secondary question to this that needs to be asked as well - Is this an intention of the artist or is this something that has sprung from reading the output of his practice. Or is it a combination of both, in my mind, probably both. While this says nothing definitive of WC's work, it does raise a curious thought about art we (especially in the DC area) have grown very accustomed to.

Clearly this post is as much me thinking aloud as it is definitive theory - I have been kind of rolling the idea around for the last couple of days just to see where it might stick.

Labels: DC Galleries, Galleries, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Washington DC

There is a body of Christenberry's work that I have been interested to see for quite a while. The installation is called The Klan Room. I only knew of The Klan Room by stories I had heard at the Corcoran when I was attending there in the early eighties. The stories were about G.I. Joes dressed up in Klan robes interacting with each other - and still holding a powerful presence - almost like the sculptures were as evil as the people they represent. I believe this show happened at the Corcoran in 1977.

Then the story starts to change.

1979 Christenberry's studio was burglarized by people who stole the entire contents of what constituted The Klan Room installation. Nothing else was taken, the intruders even locked the door on the way out. 20 years worth of artwork suddenly disappeared. Christenberry started over. He would expand the size of The Klan Room installation to three times its original.

At the same time WC's fans would ask, why pursue a subject so painful and divisive, galleries and museums have shied away from showing it due to corporate sponsorship concerns, others would say its not the right time or the right place. Others would say it's not a proper subject to make art about. All the while Christenberry has pursued this part of his work regardless of its desirability. The work that comprises The Klan Room is deadpan and in your face. It is some of the most shocking and shameful artwork I have ever seem that documents the United States.

The amount of The Klan Room shown in the current show at the Katzen is relatively small, however it packs quite a punch. WC is best known for a body of work that is both documentary in style and concerned with a history of story, and place of memory.

My wife joked about the current curatorial initiative at the Katzen when on the way over she said "Last time we got to see the torture at Abu Grahib - and now this - you really are quite the winner at choosing a date for the two of us...

I hope to discuss the rest of the show later this week, frankly there is so much to discuss.

Some research for this entry was gathered from Aperture #96. Copyright 1984, the Aperture Foundation.
Photo from the Klan Room are by me sneaking them when I was told of no photography for this show, my apologies to all.

Labels: DC Galleries, Galleries, Photography, Washington DC

Just a quick reminder about the craigslist show opening at Civilian Art Projects this Friday from 7-9 pm.

Jointly curated by Andrea Pollan of Curator's Office and Jayme McLellan of Civilian, the show features three artists that use the Craigslist web-site as part of their artistic practice. artists included are Joseph Dumbacher & John Dumbacher, Jason Horowitz, and Jason Zimmerman. The show runs until April 26th.

I am a fan of Jason Horowitz's work - he is showing images from the Corpus portfolio, its interesting work and worth looking at. One last bit of JH news, he recently received an Individual Photographer's Fellowship grant from the Siskind Foundation.

Civilian Art Projects
406 Seventh Street, NW
Third Floor
Washington, DC
202.347.0022

Labels: Galleries, Photography, Washington DC

A few of you may remember that I checked in with Jason a few months ago, well here is a quick update. Blue Sky Gallery in portland is showing his work through the end of the month. (I think - because I'm just not sure when the show ends) Anyway, it hardly matters, I'm a fan of Jasons work and I think its worth looking at. One of the things that is really interesting to me about the work is that is has to be seen in person, this is really one of those art as experience versus art as a jpeg.

Jason seems to have had a pretty good turnout for his opening - he sent over a photo of the installation as well.

My last post about Jason is here.

Labels: Galleries, Photography

I was able to see a preview of this show during it's hanging - most of the work was still on the floor. What follows is really just a few random thoughts put together about what I perceive along with what I was told. If you read the last Palm Springs report you will know that I regard JS to be one of the dominant forces in photographing the modern period of architecture - in fact he has been a force since the 1930's when he started photographing R. M. Schindler and Richard Neutra's work as early as 1936. Then moving into the 40 - 50's working with the Eames, Saarinen and the Case study houses, JS could have pretty much rested his career right about then.

The exhibition currently on display at the Palm Springs Museum is basically centered around four of the predominant Architects work in, plus a smattering of highly notable images from his past. The four (Richard Neutra, William F. Cody, Albert Frey, and E.Stewart Williams) architects are the core of Palms Springs modern (I would also add Donald Wexler and The Krisel/Alexander architect/builder team).

The work in the show is some of the best architectural photography ever made. Much of the work is still the benchmark to all architectural photography being produced today. Really it's an embarrassment of riches. It's interesting - the photography is so good it gets out of the way after a while - what I mean is that you start focusing on the buildings and what is good and great about each architectural vision - so you need to be careful about how you look at the work because you can get lost in the details pretty easily.

Highly Recommended.

Kaufmann house, Richard Neutra, 1946. Photo: 1947
Copyright J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission.
Julius Shulman Photography Archive
Research Library at the Getty Research Institute

Labels: modernism, Museums, Photography

Recently in the Washington Informer Patrice Gaines wrote about Lloyd Wolf's photographs of homemade street shrines to murder victims in Washington DC. Washington is home to a number of other more high profile shrines - and it's clear to me that these are more like the "forgotten ones".

I try not to get too high and mighty about politics on the blog, however, we as a nation seem to be more interested in the plight of other people in other nations, and are increasingly turning a blind eye to our own communities. Sometimes our light needs to be turned inward to see the problems we face on a more local level. Lloyds photographs carry a serious "personal is political" philosophy behind them and are all the more powerful because of it.

Don't get me wrong, I know not everyone gets to have a white marble monument, and I know it's hard everywhere, sometimes it just seems like we become too distracted by the things that are so far away.

Here's the article

Above, Lloyd Wolf, DeOnte' Rawlings's Shrine, 2007

Labels: Photography, Washington DC

The almost always interesting BLDGBLOG has a story today about the Australian artists The Glue Society. Here is the down low. TGS have put together a series of "satellite views" showing certain Biblical events as seen via Google Earth.

The artists are now; "aiming to produce further works using the same satellite imagery next year but this time relating to mythological occurrences and major historical events." The future via the past gets more interesting everyday.

BLDGBLOG
The Glue Society
Creative Review

The Glue Society, Moses parting the Red Sea (above), Crucifixion (below)

Labels: international, Photography

I visited Jason Horowitz in his studio a few days ago. What I learned was interesting as well as proved points about the viewing of artworks that we (or I anyway) always say, but constantly break. By this I'm referring to the practice of believing that web images are the same as viewing art. JH's photographs are large in size - about 40 x 60 inches. The images themselves are close up (but not too close) of the human figure. Let's break this down a moment so you understand why I said "not too close" these are not some high school pictures of the body so abstracted you don't know what you see, just the opposite. In fact it is the recognition of the image that leads to further exploration by the viewer. So back to the size of the images - this is a key element to both viewing and understanding his work - shown smaller they don't seem to work in the same way.

JH shoots digitally, but these are for the most part "straight" photographs. They are sharp, and at the same time whole areas of an image reads as an abstract area. This flip-flop of detail (abstracted to sharp representation) for me becomes the most interesting part of the work. Recently, Horowitz has changed his approach as a photographer - stopping all of his commercial photography and is focusing exclusively on his studio work. I find this amazingly brave.

We spoke of many things in the studio, but at the core of our conversation was the thinking behind the approach of his work, and where it might go. A number of new things are on the horizon, and seem to be well worth waiting for.

Jason Horowitz is represented by Curator's Office.

Labels: Photography, Washington DC

I spent some time Saturday on 14th street and came away from two shows that I was excited to see, happy that I spent the time. A few things upfront about both shows, I actually own artworks by both of these artists. (This shocks me to no end - but that is another story) I became aware of both Lori Nix and Khan and Selesnick at various art fairs in Miami last year.

I"ve never really thought about it, but both artists set up environments and narratives, then produce work around those themes.

Lori Nix
Lori Nix's show is titled "The City". It shows and illustrates a version of New York that is growing back towards nature. These are not images that are trying to make you believe in the reality of the landscape, just the opposite - LN is only trying to suspend belief for a moment - to give the viewer a feeling that they have seen the location and then tell the story of the artwork. That said, the mis-en-scene is detailed and complete.

Nix's photographs are similar to telling stories over coffee, there is a simplicity and clarity - with fuzzy details that allows you to linger on her every word.

Kahn and Selesnick
Kahn and Selesnick come from a different place than Nix, K&S use documentary styles to bring you into a speculative fiction, one which although I'm sure they would hate is probably best termed "Steampunk". The current body of work titled "Eisbergfrestadt" (or Iceburg Free State) is based on the real incident of 1923 when an iceburg ran aground in the port town of Lubeck.

K&S use this jumping off point to develop images and relics of the period. One of the stories throughout the images is that the new currency printed for the state become so worthless that it is used as toilet paper and firewood. This reminds me of the stories my father told me about post World War I Germany, the currency was in such a state of inflation - people would practically carry money in wheel barrows to buy bread - this same story is illustrated here. The exhibition consists of photographs, sculptures, paintings, and ephemera. All of it interesting to see just for the approach to detail that these images take.

K&S's work in this particular series is laced with irony and satire allowing the viewer to realize that these works reflect not only a real or imagined past, but our present as well.

Extended Play
Kahn and Selesnick have recently received a commission from NASA. Based on Mars, the first of these new images "Mars Glider" is on display as well. In future posts, I promise not to go on too much about NASA and my feelings about how space travel was pulled away from me after being promised in my childhood.

I'm in New York Tuesday - there is just so much to see right now - here is the short list: Richard Prince, Martin Puryear, Jaq Chartier, Johnnie Winona Ross, just to name a few.

Labels: DC Galleries, Lori Nix, Photography, Washington DC

In something like my last post, I mentioned that Lori Nix is having a show at Randall Scott Gallery along with Dane Picard. Well I got home from work this friday afternoon and opened an invite from Irvine Contemporary and was thrilled with the news that Kahn and Selesnick (above) are returning to the DC area with a new show called "Eisbergfreistadt". No doubt that there is some type of fiction that will revolve around images and characters - what I do know is this is based just after the first world war. Expect something from me in the next week or so.

Lori Nix at Randall Scott. October 27 - December 8
Kahn and Selesnick at Irvine Contemporary. October 27 - December 8

Labels: DC Galleries, Photography, Washington DC

Matthew Collings
Regular readers know of my enjoyment of Matthew Collings dairy in Modern Painters. Here's a pretty good interview with him on Artnet (amazing how they interview their own writers as an article - but that's another story) Here's a quick snippet.

writer: You made your reputation with TV programs and books on modern and contemporary art, but more recently you've turned your attention to Matt's Old Masters, and now you've remade Sir Kenneth Clark's Civilization. It would seem that you really do hate contemporary art these days.

Matthew Collings: I know a lot about art and want to talk about it. But knowing about it isn't the same as feeling you have to mindlessly support it and say the accepted things about it to show you're in a creepy club, or that you can intimidate people who don't know about it. That's the theme of all my books and programs. The new series is about how we might understand "civilization" today (that is, if we think we've still got it). It goes from the Greeks to now, but it's all from the perspective of now. The book that comes out of the series is more diaristic and confessional; it's about my tragic parents and so on, what I thought yesterday, etc., as in Blimey. There's also some stuff about Clark and the whole idea of TV arts programs. But the true focus of both the book and the TV series is the anxieties and uncertainties of art now, taking "art" as a kind of culture or constant, ongoing discussion, not just a collection of individual objects or shows.

Glenn Branca
A couple of days I alerted readers about a GB performance of Symphony No.13: Hallucination City for 100 electric guitars. Well it seems that PGWP saw this performed in LA about a year os so ago.

Follow this link to the story

Johnnie Winona Ross
One of my favorite artists, JWR (above: Sand Bend Draw, 2005) has a new show in New York this week at Steven Haller Gallery. I'll review this later in the month. But don't wait for me, exhibition is from October 18 - November 24.

Lori Nix
Randall Scott Gallery is showing Lori Nix (another favorite / below: The Majestic, 2006) along with Dane Picard right here in Washington DC. Exhibition is from October 27 - December 8. I'm missing this opening, however do expect a review.

Labels: DC Galleries, Fontana Mix, Galleries, Lori Nix, New York, Painting, Photography

Jen Bekman's 20 X 200 - Well Done. I recently bought a print from the new Jen Bekman enterprise, 20 X 200 (which I spoke of recently). I received my first print earlier last week (Tema Staufer, Palm Aire) and I could not be more pleased. The printing is of a very high quality and the packaging is exactly as it should be. It is a hell of a lot of value for 20 bucks (24 with shipping).

I'm in a show at the Fort Worth Art Center. Cecil Touchon curated a collage show called White on White: Selected Works from the Collage Museum. I'm pretty happy with the collages I've been doing lately - I really should get them up on the site. Fort Worth Art Center, October 5 - October 30.

Andre Emmerich R.I.P.

Labels: Fontana Mix, Photography

Be sure to check out the retrospective of Pierre et Gilles at Jeu de Paume. Pierre et Gilles practically invented David LaChapelle and while you can't blame them for that, the hyperstylized/hypersexualized images are clearly expanding where Helmut Newton left off. Mix in vibrant color, kitsch, and homoerotic fantasy.

I won't be able to attend, however if your there, buy me the t-shirt.

Pierre et Gilles on google images.

Labels: Europe, Photography

The 20X200 project has been gaining some press for the last couple of couple of weeks. Now in soft launch. One thing for sure is that it is hard to pass up a 16"x20" Tema Stauffer print for $200.

You can even track the sales of various editions, wisely or unwisely each item shows the count remaining in the edition at the time of purchase.

Take a look at 20x200.

Labels: art bargins, Photography

Danny Lyon - At the Whitney (NYC), opens September 7
Larry Clark - At Luhring Augustine (NYC), opens September 8
Mark Stockton - At Acuna Hansen (LA), opens September 1

I've been meaning to point out this article on Lori Nix for the last month or so.

Labels: Galleries, Photography

New York Times reports: City May Seek Permit and Insurance for Many Kinds of Public Photography.

"Some tourists, amateur photographers, even would-be filmmakers hoping to make it big on YouTube could soon be forced to obtain a city permit and $1 million in liability insurance before taking pictures or filming on city property, including sidewalks.

New rules being considered by the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting would require any group of two or more people who want to use a camera in a single public location for more than a half hour to get a city permit and insurance. The same requirements would apply to any group of five or more people who plan to use a tripod in a public location for more than 10 minutes, including the time it takes to set up the equipment."

(The city recently extended the comment period until August 3rd)

For some reason I don't see this as a good sign - usually when things like this become laws in NY or CA the rest of the country tends to follow suit. In this climate, could Garry Winogrand or a new version thereof exist?

If not, that's a real shame.

Labels: Photography, thoughts

All of these are moderated by Michael Fried and Darsie Alexander. This is held at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and it's free.

March 21 - Thomas Demand and James Welling
April 12 - Thomas Struth and Mitch Epstien
April 26 - Anthony McCall and Tacita Dean

Labels: Baltimore, Photography

Lets talk a bit about your process, I know your work is made up of multiple photographs to create the larger image - what brought you to such a complex approach to building your images?

This question really ties in with the Photoshop as a tool question. I like photoshop. I wouldn't be making the color work that I am today without it. I've got an older iMac and with large files, a gig and over, when you zoom in or out it renders in big blocky sections. The first of my color prints "Foamcore" (below) is built from six photographs in Photoshop. I did this in order to create a high resolution print. In order to make the print seamless I had to overcome issues of perspective, vignetting, and color variations. While seamless is what I achieved in "Foamcore" I wanted to make another piece that used seams, disjointed imagery and obvious perspective anomalies. This led to "Extension Cord" and "Bookcase" (above).



I like the peculiarities of single perspective. By building "Bookcase" out of many different perspectives these peculiarities become more evident. It's also a way to imply that any photograph is built from many decisions, a nod to the idea that all pictures are from the subjective view of the photographer.

The images that you produce; electrical cords, foam core, books, etc. are all pretty banal. How do these images relate, is it through the banal approach or is there a collective unconscious to the selection/approach of the subjects?

All of the objects I photograph are mine. I like them. They are generic, almost iconic within the works, but to me they are specific. Through high school and college I almost solely wore white t-shirts. My studio is in the basement along with a small wood shop and storage shelves. I end up walking over extension cords and past my lawnmower (below) on a daily basis. I don't photograph Apple computers or copper frying pans because I don't want to celebrate the easy appeal of these objects. Most of my life I'm surrounded by ordinary things like extension cords, brooms, saws, and garden hoses. I like these things for their utilitarian function and character. I photograph them because while they are personal to me they don't cloud the finished work with sensational connotations.



I like this quote from Joyce Carol Oates, referring to Yeats,"How does the poet transform his banal thoughts (are not most thoughts banal?) into such stunning forms, into beauty?" I particularly like "are not most thought banal". I think most thoughts are banal as well as most things. But I also think mundane and precious don't have to be mutually exclusive. I feel warm towards the things I photograph.

I'm not after nostalgia at all. While these are specific objects for me, I want them to be generic to the viewer. By keeping the object that's in the photograph ordinary I can call attention to the decisions I've made regarding how it's represented.

I have only seen photographs of your new work on display at The Lawrimore Project, one of these seems to break with what I would call traditional photography and becomes sculptural - this seems to be quite a break with your past work (at least to my small knowledge of your entire body of work) how did this occur and what brought you to enter the third dimension (as it were)?

The "Lawnmower" was made in 2003. It and "Self portrait" are made practically the same way. In both an object was set on photographic paper that ran under the object and up the wall behind. In the case of "Self portrait" I chose to display the image flat. As a side note, I made this piece in Rome, where I was quite interested in marble and concrete figurative sculpture.

Although "Lawnmower" is the only piece that projects into the room, it plays to the question that spurs much of my work, "How does photography describe something" in this case the work highlights the absence of the subject.

Who are the artists you are looking at right now (new or old)?

I just saw the Matta-Clark retrospective at the Whitney and loved it. So much of his work is relevant to photography. His sections of freestanding walls are like an extreme expression of "taking a photograph". I also frequently think of Lucas Sameras's polaroids, the way he drew on the print surface conflating the represented and the factual. Maybe even more than the formal achievements of his work I find his personal reflection inspiring. I also think of Jim Dyne and Robert Rauschenberg.

We met initially in Miami this year, where it seems you had quite a successful introduction of your work to a larger audience, How has that been and what is next for you after this current show winds down?

It felt fantastic to have people look and think about my work. These objects are very personal to me. I've thought about them a lot and it was great to see other people considering them. The current show at Lawrimore Project showcases important moments for me, photograms, building an image from many single points of view, and running through out the work are my ideas regarding portraiture.

Currently I'm working on a show based on my residence in Seattle. While the "Bookcase" hid the book titles it revealed much more about my home that other works before, hard wood flooring, white trim etc. By drawing on aspects of cataloging and documentary I'm continuing to describe my place from the inside out. It's a little like taking pictures from inside the belly of a whale.

Labels: A Few Questions, Isaac Layman, Photography

Lunar Procession (detail)

I am a child of the space program. Ask anyone who knows me, they will attest to this. When I was growing up kids my age were promised space exploration and possibly colonization, as this was truly the newest part of our existence we could explore. We were also feed images and ideas of this; Major Matt Mason, Star Trek, Silent Running, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apollo, Gemini, Mercury, Soyuz, Gagarin, Armstrong and Laika. We all know there are thousands more - maybe you had them in your childhood as well. The amazing future that NASA presented me as a child is in no way keeping with the NASA we live with today.

Which bring me to Kahn and Selesnick: "The Apollo Prophecies".
A quick story is necessary to be told about the images before encountering them, although not critical, it does add a degree of deeper understanding to the viewing experience. The Apollo Prophecies depicts, in long panoramic images, an expedition of 1960s American astronauts who arrive on the moon to find a lost mission of Edwardian space-travellers. To the stranded Edwardians, the Americans are long-awaited gods - the fulfillment of prophecies revealed to them many years before.

That is the germane kernel of knowledge needed to enjoy these images to the fullest.

I was recently made aware of these images at the AQUA fair in Miami, they struck me like a version of what might be called "steampunk" (a version of science fiction set in the past with technology built with that days technology - steam engines, radiators, etc, but these could make computers, cars, rocketships, etc.) and in a way they are - however with this fable attached to them they become much more interesting.

The images are panoramic in approach most are 12" X 70" Each image is either a major event or a story cycle that carries you to the next image. Each image is perfectly built so that it feels "real" as well as fake, but fake in the right way. (if that makes a bit of sense). The staging of these with the forced horizon edge curving under the characters of the images with the edwardian looking space gear makes for a experience that you are indeed looking at a smaller planet than earth, so does the fact that everyone is wearing a space helmet of some kind. The built wood and metal structures, organic Edwardian outfits retro-fitted with space helmets and breathing apparatus bring to mind Jules Verne pushed through a science fiction story.

Today I hold a grudge at the future that was promised and eventually denied, These images that rework the NASA mythos are unexpected and brilliant. They might very well be a metaphor for the lack of exploration we are now engaged in and the way we could be seen in the not too near future. Regardless they are a masterful and eccentric approach to narrative and image making.

Please Note: Yes, I am aware of Spaceship 1 and the recent attempt to privatize space, it's really not the same as NASA and the Soviet program of the 60's and 70's. Todays astronauts wear polo shirts and jumpsuits, more importantly they are made to seem smaller than the technology - a unheroic stance and screaming of "the wrong stuff".

For more detail on Kahn and Selesnick, please follow this link

Labels: Art Basel Miami Beach, DC Galleries, Photography, Washington DC

Right off the bat, Colby Caldwell's latest show is set up to take advantage of the Hemphill gallery space, and does so with an ease that is almost unnoticeable. The first room is filled with his series of images of people - take a longer look and you will notice that these are far removed from portraiture, these are what the artist has labeled "gestus pictures" (more about that in a moment). The second room is full of landscape inspired images utterly devoid of people, and the third room is shaped by a video installation and images that reflect time long ago as well as photographic ephemera.

It is these three approaches that spell out the themes for the current show; presence, absence and memory.

Presence
Let's get back to the "gestus pictures". Gestus is a Brechtian Theatrical term for the physical gesture which defines a character in production. This gestus is not a cliche, but the representation of a character. As I said earlier these are not portraits, but carefully staged images of characters. and what characters they are; a hunter, friends, and family - displaying personalities that let us read our own biases and dislikes into them. These are quietly successful and imaginative images.



Absence
These images show just that, absence. However take a second look and many of these images are speaking of an absence that is not the naturalistic ideal. The absence is that of man and these images quietly show his past presence, and his now departure from the area. This is most notably felt in "after nature (33)" (shown above).

Memory
For me, the two standouts of the show play with memory and photographic ephemera. (t)here, and (t)here (1) are my personal standouts of this show. These images feel connected to CC's earlier work - which is no bad thing. (t)here documents the material of the work - film, while (t)here (1) distills the unknown quality of film, this image is an end of a film roll, an overshot. The final work in the Memory room is a 5 channel video installation, readers of this blog know of my trouble with video presentation in the gallery space, while the five monitors or "rounds" feature Bernard Welt's writing (which I care for very much) it is still hard for me to give a review of the video portion of the show. Please do note that this is not due to any fault of the artist - it is due to this reviewer.

Colby Caldwell | Small Game is highly recommended, and is on display through February 24.

One last note: There is a stamped, signed limited edition poster of (t)here, that will benefit the establishment of a wet darkroom at St. Mary's College in memory of Steve Szabo (1940 -2000). He was a teacher of mine as well as many that attended the Corcoran School. The poster is inexpensive ($20) and goes to a good cause in honor of a man who did much for the betterment of the arts in Washington. If you don't feel like owning the print, go ahead and drop the twenty dollars anyway.

Labels: Photography, Washington DC

I apologize for the bad reference in the title, however I do have some good news to share with everyone.

Here's the story: In June I was approached to show a few photographs at "Hon Fest" in Baltimore. I said yes or else this would not be a story you are reading. A collector there saw my work in the space and spoke to the owner that he was interested in purchasing some of the photo's. Well long story short, he just bought every photo I was showing.

Yeah! (for me).

I want to come right out and thank John Starling at Smith Content for arranging the show as well as his devotion for pursuing the sale. John runs a great writing studio in baltimore with local as well as national clients - Follow this link to his site.

Labels: Baltimore, Collecting, Photography

Imagine this book to be twice as large, with a hardbound cover and gold debossed title, beautiful endpapers, head and tail bands, and a dust cover with a French fold. The inside would have glossy, coated paper throughout. Printed on this paper would be a number of carefully selected full color reproductions of landscape photographs of the Mojave Desert. The photos would have been taken with a field camera holding 8 x 10 inch negative film. The reproductions would be scanned with the latest high-end scanning device and printed at 300 lines per inch in five colors with a spot varnish. The tonal qualities and detail of the reproductions would match the originals perfectly. To explain the images and create context, there would be two critical essays by well known critics. And to lend the book credibility it would be published by a New York art book publisher or institute of photography. It would be a beautiful book, indeed.

This is not that book.

I've always admired Rudy VanderLans work with emigre. I even went as far as to learn about Van Dyke Parks from his book "Plam Desert". I think the verbage above is as interesting as any critical text I've read in quite a while. I also think his 8 x 10 photographs of the California landscape are some of the most interesting and banal that I've seen. His other books; Palm Desert, Cucamonga, Joshua Tree are well worth looking at as well.

Follow this link for more info

Labels: Art Books, Photography