Blog highlight: Missed Connections

I am so happy to find this blog by illustrator Sophie Blackall called Missed Connections. This really made my day. On top of that, a wonderful local photographer David Cunningham just stopped by with two camera for me to play with. Both of which I have never tried- a rangefinder and a Rolleicord. Yippeee!

Back to this wondrous Sophie. For this particular project, she has been reading personal ads and illustrating them into these amazing pictures. Her statement is: Messages in bottles, smoke signals, letters written in the sand; the modern equivalents are the funny, sad, beautiful, hopeful, hopeless, poetic posts on Missed Connections websites. Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I'm trying to pin a few of them down.

illustration by Sophie Blackall

Saturday, September 5, 2009
- m4m - 29 (astoria)
we were both swimming around 5-6 in astoria pool. we ended up walking the same direction in the park for a while but didn't talk. i wish i had said hi...so i figured i would on here.
worth a shot.

She is a special one. You can view her website here.

local exhibition alert

From October 1-31 you can see Richard Edelman's exhibition at Donskoj & Co (93 Broadway in Kingston). This body of work "Infra-Structure" is an examination of landscapes that are unremarkable and quite ordinary. Yet, Richard brings these places to life with his remarkably composed images and extraordinary printing abilities.

You can see more by Richard and his fine art printing company Woodstock Graphic Studio here.

sally mann's proud gaze

Sally Mann's new exhibition at Gagosian Gallery on 980 Madison in NYC is called "Proud Flesh". Sally mentions in her statement that she has had trouble finding work by female artists with their male partners as the subject. How can this be so rare? Looking at the history of photography we see many men exploring their female partner's bodies in thier images but when seeking out the opposite we hit a dead end.

We know women are staring at the male body. We know that their gaze is seeing the light hit their flesh, their bones, their muscle.

I think I have photographed every partner I have ever had. I remember dragging one guy, who I barely knew, into this tiny, miniscule bathroom in a studio apartment I rented- all because the speckles of light were going to look perfect on his back. he did it without complaint and the images were lovely.

Mann's visual language is so strong that these exhibited images actually ooze with emotion,sensuality, mortality and grace. they are loving but they are real.

Aperture has book out a book in conjunction with the show. Also, Gagosian has launched a store next to the gallery. all very exciting.

blog highlight: walmart as visual phenomenon

I have been intrigued by the photographic possibilities of the Walmart franchise for years. These super stores offer a visual landscape unlike any other. It is what America is all about, isnt it? Peel back the layers and welcome in metaphors that could keep us psychologically busy for years. The human condition is alive and well under that warehouse of americana. and...you gotta luv the eye candy too.

As an undergraduate student, I visited several Walmarts with my manual 35mm Pentax camera (hidden in my purse, lens popping out through a hole in the bag) as part of a documentary project i was working on about people who shopped there. It was called "Every 2 Days" because that was how often a new store was launched. Those facts might be different today, but at that time (roughly 2000/01) it was truly that consistant. My goal was to observe people shopping- in the Walmart zone. I roamed the stores, and found people so engaged in their shopping fantasies that they looked almost like they were in a trance. it was strange. so i snapped some shots, but needed more. I then started taking portraits outside the stores of people before they went in. I could not get Walker Evans out of my head at this time. Therefore, most of the portraits were in front of the walmart signature brick wall (thinking of the textured barn walls of the 1930's in Evan's work). I asked these people what they were there to buy and asked them to see me when they were done shopping. When they found me an hour, two, sometimes 5 hours later I asked them what they ended up purchasing and without a doubt every single person bought more than they intended. Interesting info that I collected but it did not translate in my pictures. This was a project i always wanted to revisit and see what else I could do with.

In the mean time, my wonderful friend Megan sent me a link to this blog which fulfills so many of my visual walmart needs but also goes a little too far for me. People of Walmart has potential but I think it crosses the line by humiliating shoppers to some extent. That was never my intent and I do not think it is constructive or interesting to do that. This blog, which consists of snapshots taken by Walmart shoppers, does give a nice overview of the cultural presence at these stores but at the same time posts images that just simply make fun of people. we are americans, therefore we have the right to be mean, don't we?

in any case. this blog is worth checking out.

zen and art making....

A few quotes shared by Doug Beasley in "Zen and the Art of Photography":

"To see is to forget the name of what one is seeing"

"Listening with the eyes you can name nothing" -George Wolf

"To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong" -Joseph Chilton Price

"A camera is an extension of ourselves, an appendage to bring us closer to the universe. This is Zen in the Art of Photography. In discovering the universe, we discover ourselves." -Robert Leverant

image taken at the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Trempor, NY

let the spiegel begin

Spiegeltent at Bard College is absolutely worth visiting. I will not miss it.
Located across from the Fisher Center, the 100-year-old Spiegeltent (“Mirror Tent”) is a glittering pavilion with an eye-filling interior of carved wood surfaces, beveled mirrors, stained-glass windows, and sumptuous velvet canopies.

From July 10 through August 23, the Spiegeltent hosts performances by singers, bands, magicians, contortionists, and impressionists (to name but a few!) on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, and rollicking kid-oriented shows on weekend afternoons. Later in the evening, the disco ball turns as SummerScape audiences gather to dance to DJ-spun tunes.

Food is available, indoors and out -- lunch is served on weekends; dinner is available Thursdays through Sundays; and wine, beer, and snacks are available during performances.
Info taken from website.

Get schedule and more info here.

she is finally coming to woodstock!!!

Elinor Carucci is going to be lecturing at CPW Saturday June 27th at 8pm. This is not to be missed. All my NYC friends- come up for this!!! You can stay at mi casa!!!

Carucci's poetic voice shines through these intimate yet relatable images of herself and her family. I look at her photographs and get wrapped up in their emotionally charged visuals. Following the undeniably intense expressions and postures which fill the frame I find myself in a trance. The images permeate through me and unleash my own memories, dramas and histories. I can look at these as if they were traces of my own experiences, relatives, friends, moments....

...ahhhh. Can you tell i am excited that she will be in Woodstock?

see you there.

Ahoy mateey!

The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild kicks off a season-long series of events celebrating the 400th anniversary of the exploration of the Hudson River with an opening reception for “Ahoy! Where Lies Henry Hudson?” a major outdoor exhibition of Henry Hudson memorials designed by area architects, on Saturday, June 13, 4-7 pm at The Villetta Inn, 3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way. Curated by Linda Weintraub, the exhibition is an original and thought-provoking contribution to the state-wide Quadricentennial of Hudson’s explorations of the river that bears his name. The site-specific memorials have been installed outdoors on the grounds of the historic Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock, NY and will be on view from June 13 – October 12, 2009.

The exhibition continues through October 12, during which time, the WBG will feature a monthly events to commemorate the Quadricentennial.

Byron Bell and Les Walker, "The Magnificent Adventure of Henry Hudson"

Exhibition curator, Linda Weintraub is a writer, curator, educator and artist. She is the author of a series of college textbooks entitled: Avant-Guardians: Textlets in Art and Ecology. She has curated over fifty-five exhibitions nationally and internationally. She received her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University. Weintraub comments that the project is unique, imaginative and local, “…never before have regional architects been featured in a major exhibition. The installations take their inspiration from the site and the historic occasion. The results utilize unusual materials, original designs, and unconventional construction methods. As residents of the Hudson Valley, the participants are responding to this historic occasion in manners that are personal as well as accomplished and informed.”

Henry Hudson is celebrated as a hero, but his life ended in failure. His crew mutinied and set him adrift to die in the icy waters of Hudson Bay. As a result, he never received a formal burial. The memorials in this exhibition are designed and constructed by distinguished regional architects. They interpret the significance of Hudson’s historic journey within the context of 400 years of European occupation.

Matt Bua, "The Henry Hudson Mutiny Memorial Drive–thru Kiosk"

Woodstock Guild Director: Carla Smith. Architectural coordinator: Alan Baer.

Text taken from press release.

First workshop completed.

I have been slacking on the blog entries. I need to be more disciplined!

So...we opened the workshop season with The Art & Craft of Portraiture taught by Platon. This workshop was taught in 2007, during my first few months with CPW, so it was really nice to see it through a second time around (second for me that is, not for Platon or CPW).

Great start to the season. Platon is energetic, intelligent and incredibly passionate for what he does...which is infectious. He carefully nursed every workshop participant through somewhat grueling exercises in "relating and connecting to your subject"--- which in the end brought every single person to a place of better understanding of who they are as artists. It was extremely enjoyable to watch from my end. People really came out of their shells and did an amazing job.

I have blogged about portraiture before and discussed the complicated discussions that exist around it. how much of a portrait is made with genuine "connection" and how much is a projection that we impose onto it? how telling can a photographic portrait really be on its own without other representation? what level of responsibility do we have as artists to properly represent a person? what is the definition of representation!? How does the gaze of the viewer change over time alter the portrait?

lots of questions...lots of different viewpoints...all interesting for another time...

And...the fabulous interns!!! They did a great job and I can tell that they will blossom from the experiences of the next 4 months. I am relieved...I now am confident that my summer will go smoothly.

Linda Connor lecture this Saturday. not to be missed people.

my local artist ramble: Paul McMahon

image by Paul McMahon

Paul McMahon strolled into CPW this week to use our digital facilities to prepare a presentation he will be giving at the Metropolitan Museum today. He is one of the artists in the exhibition The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984 at the museum and his live musical slide show is a special event in conjunction with it. I showed him the little bits and pieces I know about Microsoft Powerpoint so he could construct his orgy of images which would synchronize with a live performance of guitar playing and vocals.

In the two years I have lived here I can honestly say that all Woodstockians are immensly unique characters. Paul is no different, and may even rise above the norm. He was so much fun to be around and was very inspiring to say the least. After all the hard work was over, he sang through his performance for Megan and I. It was seriously wonderful. We were laughing hysterically. makes me wonder why i take art so seriously all the time...

The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984 is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art till August 2nd.
Read the Art in America review here.

A few sentences from Douglas Eklund's essay which gives some valuable background info:

"...The famous last line of Barthes' essay, that "the birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the author," was a call to arms for the loosely knit group of artists working in photography, film, video, and performance that would become known as the "Pictures" generation, named for an important exhibition of their work held at Artist's Space in New York in 1977.

The show featured 45-rpm records and projected short films by the California artist Jack Goldstein, who sampled and looped canned sound effects or film snippets that triggered Pavlovian responses of fear and dread in the imagination of the viewer. Slightly later, Richard Prince zoomed in on what he termed "social science fiction," the hyperreal space depicted in countless advertisements featuring gleaming luxury goods and robotic models. Cindy Sherman and Laurie Simmons worked at the intersection of personal and collective memory, rummaging through the throwaway products of their youth—from B-movies to dollhouses that served as training manuals for who and how to be—in search of moments that both never existed yet were indelibly stamped in the mind.

The image-scavengering of these artists was not restricted to the child's play of popular culture: Louise Lawler stalked the corridors of power in search of hidden treasure, while Sherrie Levine shot over the shoulders of photography's founding fathers not as a dry Duchampian gesture, but in order to create something akin to musical overtones—a buzzing in the space between their "original" and her "copy" that effaced the distance between objective document and subjective desire."