Apple's Just Desserts

A friend and I have a longstanding disagreement over my inability (refusal) to understand that Apple is the second coming in terms of technology and design, my being a firm believer in "Pretty is, as Pretty does". She has a shiny new iPhone and after several hundred dollars in additional expenses (operating system upgrade, USB II, cancelling previous phone carrier) and numerous trips to AT&T and the Apple store (each claiming the other had to solve her problems) I thought she might appreciate this.

For more fun with "Will it Blend?" go here. The Toilet Flushy Things and Easy Cheese are not to be missed.

I am simply compelled

All photographs from The Evening Standard

There is nothing for me to add. Mike Johnston's blog sent me to these photos. Eyeteeth is broadcasting support of this meme.

The Dutch Masters

Young Herdsmen with Cows Aelbert Cuyp

Aetsveldse Polder, 2006 Han Singels

Edward Winkelman posted on the overdue availability of New York Times articles and resources providing this link to a fantastic interactive tour of The Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A few days earlier Mrs. Deane linked us up with a link to the collections of Dutch photographers (as well as many others) at the Huis Marseille.

I'll say it again, I love the internet.

Silverstein Photography Annual revisited

I am finally getting to post the installation shots from the Silverstein Annual opening. As my first experience attending a New York/Chelsea opening it was amazing. Hundreds and hundreds of people came through, almost all the artists were in attendance, it was lively and wonderful. On a purely personal note, I will think twice before offering red wine at a large studio gathering. I'm not sure cork will clean up as easily as the concrete floor at Silverstein did.

You can read Lisa Hostetler's (nominator/curator) accompanying text on Crude here. You can also see the review The New Yorker is giving the show here.

I'm so happy for Sonja, and was thrilled to share the experience with her. I have had the opportunity to closely follow this work since its inception and it is a joy to see it moving out into the world.

Highly recommended, again

"As avid readers of T. is T. may already have surmised, Japanese TV is always, firmly and resolutely, in our "reason to live" category. Always.With that being said: what happens when hurdles are placed on treadmills? Glory!"

This is That is a blog I have come across. I was feeling miserable after the Brewers took up a good chunk of my afternoon giving away any chance of getting into post-season play. I found this post and am delighted to have things put back in perspective., perhaps because there is more than a passing similarity between the two athletic competitions. The goal is so simple and obvious, the attainment of the goal is a whole other story.

If you haven't been there then I highly recommend you do. If you don't subscribe, well then, I just don't know what to tell you.

Ends of the Earth

Subhankar Banerjee

I went to the opening of Photographs from the Ends of the Earth at MAM last night and today found this post from Conscientious of French photographer Celine Clanet's work.

These are stunning images that have taken us to places most of us will never see in person. If Street Photography is the momentary recording of the common experience these are, if you'll forgive me, the polar opposite.

Throughout the photographic recording history of the Polar Regions, whether for documentary, artistic or political purposes, there is the element of privileged access that underlies the images. Are these photography's moon shots?

MOMA, JoAnn Verburg and more...

Entrance to JoAnn Verburg exhibit at MOMA 2007

When I started blogging I would feel "scooped" if someone (invariably far more interesting than I) posted something I had intended to write about before I had the opportunity to get it up. I have now become comfortably lazy enough to appreciate their labor and pass it on to you.

The first stop we made in New York (Wasn't that just last week? Where is the time going?) was to see the Verburg exhibit at the MOMA. Working my way through the retrospective I was particularly struck by the diptych and triptych portraits, the water portraits and the olive tree series. Her ability to render what I can only describe as dynamic stillness through manipulation of the focal plane is extraordinary.

For a more thorough examination go to Tim Atherton's (see above) posts here and here.

Leaving Verburg's exhibit lead to displays of work in MOMA's permanent collection. Winogrand's, Arbus', the copy of Ruscha's Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Roni Horn's Still Water. All images I have admired in books and now more fully appreciate through visiting in person. As much as anything it was a tribute to John Szarkowski's vision.

From there it was a walk downtown to the Stephen Shore retrospective at ICP, but that's another post.

Sports metaphors

The New Yorker

ESPN the Magazine, photo by Kevin Miyazaki

I have the distinct honor of being accepted to the MARN mentor/mentee program for 2007-08. As I was deciding how to compose this post I remembered the New Yorker cartoon from a couple of weeks ago. Besides being a hilarious visual that sums up the current Milwaukee Brewers battle to enter post season play for the first time in 25 years, it seemed to coincide with the mentor/mentee/coach/player thoughts that have been filling my mind since the announcement on Saturday.

As I was gathering the links to add to this post I went for the url of my mentor Kevin Miyazaki (if you haven't already been there be sure to also go to his terrific blog) and a few links down on the Google page was this sheet from ESPN the Magazine. Synchronicity, again.

I hope that through the next six months as I learn and receive critical engagement from Kevin I can come up with a couple of strikes, keep the ball count low, and for god's sake avoid wild pitches. There is no mention of being pulled for a reliever.

(Once again I am having problems with formatting. Line spacing seems to have a mind of it's own.)

This one's for Tara

I can see a hint of daylight at the end of the tunnel I went into. It could just be the oncoming train but never the less.

While I was in New York last weekend for the Silverstein opening it was also Fashion Week. I grabbed this shot in Time Square as they were doing make overs. I had a fantastic weekend and as I get things under control will post more.

Behinder and behinder

The last two weeks have put me so far behind I am having trouble catching up much less moving forward. All good things; a visit from my sister, a trip to New York, putting together the mailing for my studio warming party next month, preparing for a Photoshop class I'll be teaching.

My Google Reader shows over 400 updates from all of you which I am loathe to "mark all as read" since I know I will miss something amazing or wonderful or insightful.

I'm working on it.

The end is near

Paris sunset 9-3-07

While we often have some of our best weather in September and October it always seems that Labor Day weekend is the end of summer. The end of the wonderful long evenings that keep the day going. The gray days, cold weather and long nights, easily forgotten in May, are rapidly approaching.

If you're also feeling nostalgic here is the perfect site. Eternal Sunset is a real time feed that shows the sun setting continually around the globe. The upside to the site is it can be relied upon for proof that indeed "It's five o'clock somewhere". I'll leave it to those of you with an optimistic nature to see if there is an Eternal Sunrise.