6/30/08

observe or inspire?


I was watching the Ovation Network last night and their series on photography. In this particular show they were discussing what they termed "pop photography". They stated that William Klein was the unofficial beginning of this genre. I am not sure I agree with this or understand it fully. What I do know is that Klein was always looking for an animated moment and would interact with his subjects to achieve it. That is what makes him so magical to me. He was not an observer of life but a maker of it. He is such a rebel- taking the one decisive moment and making 1000 seconds out of it. Inspiring the world to react to him and allowing his camera to capture that.

6/28/08

old school

The image above was taken with the school's view cam- I believe it was a Cambo and some good old Polaroid 55 (nod head in mourning). The color has browned over these few years. i kind of like it.

I found this picture when I was cleaning a few weeks ago and it made me so happy. This is my first group of student employees at the UMass Student Union Gallery (though also included in the pic is Ben, his sister Sarah and Gustavo who at the time was Paula's assistant)...which means this picture was taken in 2003/2004. It was at a BBQ I had at my house in Sunderland that I put together for these hard working and awesome gals. They really were an incredible staff and i was so lucky to have worked with them.

That gallery was such an important part of my life and I will never forget that. I still cannot believe how many wonderful exhibitions and events we put on. Having Laurie Anderson come to UMass to talk was one of the highlights for sure. That was the gallery's big 50th anniversary celebration. Why Laurie? She came to the gallery in the early 70's to give a performance art workshop. wish I was there! In any case, I thought it would be fun to bring her back as a representation of the accomplishments the gallery has had over time. It was a great event. Hard to top.
Ms. Anderson, the Student Union Gallery staff and our supervisor Paula Hodecker before the lecture.
This image was taken by Nafis Azad (a great friend of the gallery).

By the way, Laurie Anderson will be performing Homeland at the Egg in Albany, NY on September 21st. This is a very cool venue, I suggest checking it out!

6/22/08

double workshop ramble

image by Philip Trager

time is flying by. This was CPW's fourth workshop weekend- crazy! We hosted 2 different classes- Intro to Film Photography was taught by Joan Barker, who was one of my undergraduate professors at SUNY New Paltz & Publishing a Photographic Book which was taught by the incredible artist Philip Trager and his wife Ina. What a jam packed weekend!

I spent most of my time with the Intro class- trying to help out all the ambitious and passionate beginner photographers. The class went really smooth and everyone is walking away with so much information. The students were so much fun! Also, getting the opportunity to observe Joan teach photography again after all these years I have been out of college has helped me to better understand who I have become as a artist and educator. So much of what I once learned from her I have put into practice for the last 5+ years- and have also passed it on to my students at SUNY Ulster. How sweet it is.

While the WPW interns Josephine & Amanda helped out tremendously with the Intro class as well (they rock!), Bree assisted in the Book-making class which she said went really well too. I have to say, having three awesome interns is a blessing.

speaking of blessings...I would like to give thanks to my great partner Ben who let me body slam him with my elbow last night when I was feeling hyper and playful. and i am thankful for 1980's wrestling TV which is where I learned that move.

6/21/08

Watch this


Want to see something beautiful?
Check THIS out.

6/15/08

workshop ramble- a little late.

image by Josephine Sacabo

I cannot believe I have not blogged all week! Between the hectic weekend and getting sick I just was not capable of getting to the computer. I suck, I know.
In any case, here are some notes on last weekend....

I was really curious how the workshop this past weekend would turn out. On a personal level I was very excited about the subject matter: Images of the Psyche, but I did not know how the students would be able to express their ideas and concerns in only 2 days. Well...it turned out that Josephine Sacabo was so awesome that it was a breeze. The students got so much from her critique of their work, her discussion of her own art and the full day of making images at a beautiful home in Saugerties. Sacabo helped the students to challenge their own personal comfort zones and therefore tap into a hidden creative pocket within.

Sacabo instructing a workshop participant

I was personally so inspired by Sacabo's gravure prints (which you can see at BMG Galerie in Woodstock). There was a time when i was obsessed with the process and seeing her work has sparked that in me again. we will see what comes of it.

Also, on monday we had our New York City Portfolio Review at Milk Studios in Chelsea. They were so nice to us there- the entire staff is awesome. The event went wonderfully, and I could not be happier. We introduced two new reviewers this year- Jennifer Blessing, curator of photographs at the Guggenheim and Craig Cohen, editor at Powerhouse books- and both got tremendous praise from the participants. Overall, a very successful (and exhausting) weekend.

NYC Reviews

6/12/08

Tim Leary's home town


Great day with the boy out and about in Millbrook, NY. First stop was hiking at the Cary Institute for Ecological Studies. Beautiful trails...we had a stellar time. The images are from there.

Next was a picnic and wine tasting at Millbrook Vineyards. So fun! Felt like I was in Cali all over again. They did an awesome job explaining how the grapes are grown and the wine is made. They also have a small gallery on the top level of the barn. It seems that the shows are all organized by the Dutchess Council on the Arts. It has huge ceilings (really really tall) which has incredible potential for some crazy installation. hmmmm.....

Join a CSA!


Yesterday we got our first installment of this year's amazing food from the Heart Roots CSA. I could not be more excited to eat salad! For those of you who do not know, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You join by paying a fee or trading for work and in exchange receive a share of the weekly crops produced on the farm. We have a half share so we pick up food every other week. It is a great way to eat healthy and support a local organic farm! Do not be suprised to see lots of pictures of veggies on this blog all summer.

6/10/08

workshop ramble- just not on sunday

1st Digital Camera

so based on how crazy just the last two weeks have been, it is likely I will not get to post blogs as much as I have hoped to. but i will try the best that i can to ramble about each workshop and make a personal post or two throughout the week. we will see how it goes.

it was wild weekend at CPW. 15 students attended our workshop on "How to get the most out of your Canon Digital SLR" and it was roughly 100 degrees all weekend! I am so glad we have A/C in the building!
This was taught by a Canon photographer named Barbara Ellison. It was a great class for anyone who wants to have control over their image capturing. Since Canon is a sponsor of CPW's Educational Programming, we had lots of cameras for the students to borrow and Barbara also brought a ton of fun gear to loan out. The students got to try new equipment and test to see if they would want to purchase it in the future.
One of the most effective parts of the workshop was that Barbara had anyone who had been shooting their cameras on fully automatic settings, go out and try manual settings so that they can learn about aperture, shutter and film speed and depth of field. You would be surprised how many of the students needed a refresher on this, so I am so glad it was assigned.

Overall it was a busy & hot but fun weekend at the workshops.

6/5/08

got to love the signs


A bizarro sign in a supermarket in woodstock. I could not help sharing. Would you like to know what "new age drinks" was referring to? Juices with real fruits and veggies in them. Classic.

6/2/08

20 x 200 madness

Yellow Canary #1
by Luke Steohenson


20 x 200 is the reason I now look forward to Tuesdays and Wednesdays. What makes this website so special you ask? Affordable and amazing art- printed in limited editions specifically for the 20 x 200 project. This is the deal: Twice a week (hence the Tuesdays & Wednesdays excitement) an artist and print is announced. There are 200 $20 prints made in the edition. You have to order fast. These have been selling out faster than a Pearl Jam concert at MSG.
Who is the pioneer behind this masterful and ground-breaking project? Ms. Jen Bekman. She is such a super star.

6/1/08

my sunday ramble

Craig Barber

My Sunday Local Artist Rambles have been a lot of fun. I have been able to learn alot about the talented local artists here in the Hudson Valley.

Now that workshop season has begun at CPW, I would like to dedicate my sunday blogging to an overview of the weekend workshops. They are all so full of amazing adventures that I cannot help but want to share.

This weekend Woodstock artist Craig Barber has come to CPW to teach Pinhole Photography. The students spent Saturday creating their own pinhole cameras which hold 4x5 backs (which they can use paper negs in as well). They all worked very hard making them...cutting cardboard to precise measurements and taping and gluing meticulously....and they look great!

They will spend 1/2 of today photographing outdoors and the other 1/2 looking at each others work. In addition they will get an overview of digital pinhole (Finney pinhole caps placed on our EOS Canon Digital cameras) and will get to play with that.

Anthony, a rep. from B&H is here with lots of goodies as well. He has Fuji's 4x5 polaroid film to show everyone (just in case we thought polaroid was really the end of instant film) and a Lensbaby which will be fun for the students to experiment with. he also brought a gift certificate for the store, which will we will raffle off at the end of the day.

The new interns, Josephine, Amanda and Bree, are also doing really well. Aside from all the hard work they have been doing they have gotten a chance to participate in the class. They are all awesome and I look forward to spending the upcoming months with them.

Craig is a great teacher and a valuable asset in our community. His over 20 years of experience with pinhole cameras is clear- his knowledge is extensive and he is more than willing to share it with his students. I will now go back to the group to enjoy this weekend further....