Zoe Strauss

Have I ever mentioned that I am a huge fan of Zoe Strauss? The person and the artist? Boy do I wish I could be in Philadelphia this Sunday. You do understand she's showing/selling 67 new images, 231 all together? At least 3 prints of each? Under a freeway for $5? How lazy do you feel now?

Portraits of Pictures

Portraits of Pictures, Portrait 22 2007, Anne-Karin Furunes

I have been experimenting for the past few weeks with physically intervening with my prints. I have taped second prints to them and then scanned the resulting piece to make something new, I have cut into prints to fold back a portion and expose a second print beneath. I am at the very early stages with these experiments, but have felt a desire to manipulate them with my hands. To have physical interaction with my photographs.

At Art Chicago last Friday I came upon the work of Anne-Karin Furunes, a Norwegian painter.

Furunes, a Norwegian artist, creates haunting large-scale paintings of faces and landscapes by perforating the surface of black or white canvas or unpainted aluminum with hundreds of handmade holes. The holes allow the image to coalesce for the viewer, similar to the dot-screened images in a newspaper. Her subtly pixilated images of particular people and sites reflect the artist’s concern with memory, history, and the nature of photographic reality. For the past decade, Furunes has exhibited her paintings extensively in Europe, and has created a series of monumental public works in Norway.

Portraits of Pictures, Portrait 12 2007, Anne-Karin Furunes

These Portraits were some of the most affecting and memorable work I saw all day. The occasional current of air would flutter the stretched canvas enhancing the haunting, enigmatic pieces. They will stay with me for a long time.

The critic Mika Hannula noted this active aspect of looking at Furunes’s work: “You see the picture, how it changes, and you realize: sometimes it helps to go a little further away so as to see a little more closely....You are in the end remaking the painting, re-describing it for that short moment as your place, your face, your memory–your version of reality.”

I found this quote interesting, as he pretty well sums up what all photographs do, re-describe.

You can see more of her work here and read the full press release from Barry Friedman, Ltd. here.

Sound Affects

I am very pleased to have a copy of Christian Patterson's book, Sound Affects, after much emailing, a couple of phone calls and then being given the once over, twice, by his gallery (Kaune, Sudendorf; evidently they had only brought a handful with them). The benefits to being from Wisconsin are few and far between, we have to grab them where we can. The design is clean and straightforward allowing the images and the eye to meet without interference. The images and sequence (as you can glimpse above) bluesy, frowsy, blunt, musical, Memphis.

The original prints at Kaune, Sudendorf's booth at Next are exactly as I guessed they would be given his background, stunning. There were quite a few prints (I won't name names) at Art Chicago and Next that left a great deal to be desired in their technical sense. These are of the highest order.

We were able to connect in the afternoon and finally, having written back and forth several times, put face to name. I forgot to tell him two things before I had to catch a train:

1. I love the book printing experience he put up on his site (warning: make sure your speaker is not at full volume before clicking link)

2. I still swoon at this video from nearly a year ago.

I miss his posts but I'm glad he is making work, after all that should be the first order of priority.

Chicago's Artapalooza

Yesterday was spent in total sensory overload at Art Chicago and Next.

7:40 AM - Leave home

8:25 AM - Catch train to Chicago

9:30 AM - Take one of the top ten most heart stopping taxi rides to David Weinberg Gallery with my friend Sonja Thomsen for her to meet with curator Aaron Ott (who by 10:15 had assuaged a good deal of the cynicism I have been feeling about Galleries and their management, i.e. he's friendly, engaging, energetic, and knowledgeable).

10:15 AM - Quick walk through of Catherine Edelman Gallery to appreciate the current exhibit of work by Cecil McDonald (I am completely over the bed as landscape/environment. This picture changed my mind) as well as the Julie Blackmon prints they have hanging.

Fresh Linens 2006 Cecil Blackmon

11:00 AM - Wade into Art Chicago. I think there is such a thing as going art blind. Think of snow blind and change the visual onslaught to art. If you haven't been to a major metropolitan art fair, the effect is best described as taking MOMA, the Louvre, Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory and Sam's Club, then mixing them together. I plan to post this week on the discoveries that stuck.

1:00 PM - Have an "Arnold Palmer" with the ever charming Brian Ulrich (who we found wandering the aisles with his camera bag, hunting images to further Copia) and Kelli Connell (When Brian introduced me I nearly blurted out "No you're not!", so strong is my sense that her work is comprised of self [albeit contstructed, I'm not that naive!] portraits) whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting.

2:00 PM - Take the elevator to Next to further overload and stop at the Kaune, Sudendorf booth. Christian Patterson and I have been emailing back and forth and hoped to meet at the booth. Having left a message on his cell phone, it was time to visit his work and see about getting a copy of Sound Affects. They weren't entirely impressed with my credentials (or lack there-of) so it took a call to Christian to confirm there was a signed copy waiting for me. More on this tomorrow, but suffice it to say his prints from the project are stunning.

3:30 PM - Meet and thoroughly enjoy Edward Winkelman at his booth. Further evidence that if you read someone's blog for over a year you may be able to suss out whether or not they are "good people". As most of you know Ed Winkelman writes a smart, candid, opinionated, engaging blog on art and galleries. While there is always the possibility of disappointment, this was far from the case. He had several pieces of photography (synchronicity? photographs not being his usual media) by Rory Donaldson, with an exhibit of his work next week at his gallery.

4:00 PM - Return to Kaune, Sudendorf to meet up with Christian and thank him for setting aside the book as well as congratulate him on his upcoming marriage and see where he is headed now that the Exhibit in Cologne and the book are achieved. It would appear not back to blogging (unless you read this at Hiding in Plain Sight and wonder?).

4:30 PM - Head to train station.

6:30 PM - Drive home through hellacious rain, lightening and thunder.

I can only wonder what strange dreams I'll have again tonight, even though we didn't see Joel Peter Witkin this year. I'll be posting through the week on the experience.

On faith

Please go here to read about this.

Amen.

Portraits of photographers

If you want to play an amazing game of memory, go to this collection of more than 1000 portraits of photographers by Bill Jay and see how many faces you can identify in the most extensive collection I have seen, and perhaps exists.

The Archipelago of Arrogance

This excellent article written by Rebecca Solnit fits very neatly into the recent discussion that gave rise to Women Photographers Helping Women Photographers. Print if out and give it to someone who needs it (of either gender).

via (Notes on) Politics, Theory & Photography

MARN Mentors 2 opens tonight

Indexed



We'll see how my work plays on the wall.

Bill Owens

screen capture, Bill Owens Godless Geeks

Ben Huff posted a short while ago on Bill Owens. Do yourself a favor, if you haven't taken the time to thoroughly investigate his site. At the very least look through the Movies. My favorite? Godless Geeks (Screen 1, bottom row, left).

Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Aaron Ruell

Lee Grant, a new to me Australian photography blogger/MFA student posted on Aaron Ruell's work and his upcoming Nazraeli Press book Some Photos. Kip a photographer? Who knew?

Promised Land (7)

"...planting seeds of God's love." 2007

.

See April 9 post for statement.

Promised Land (6)

"...the evangelistic world." 2007

See April 9 post for statement.

Promised Land (5)

"Thank you. In Him, Shalom." 2007

See April 9 post for statement.

Promised Land (4)

"...Praise God for Paintball." 2007

See April 9 post for statement.

Promised Land (3)

"...Christian witness..." 2007

See April 9 post for statement.

Promised Land (2)

"...Grace and Peace to you." 2007

.

See the April 9 post for statement.

Promised Land

"...beautiful fields God has blessed." 2007

Next week I have the MARN Mentors show opening. I will be showing 7 pieces from a project titled Promised Land. I thought I would spend the next week posting them here as well.

Artist Statement:

I’m interested in what I perceive as contradictions.

When I learned of a paintball park called Promised Land, which advertised itself as “America’s best Christian paintball park,” my upbringing by a pacifist minister compelled me to investigate.

Church youth groups and members at the private facility play scenario games such as “The Nuke,” Revolutionary War” and “Outlaw Island” on fields named “The Far East,” “The Badlands” and “The Congo.” Opposing teams each take turns role-playing “Special Forces” members or “terrorists.” The guns shoot paintballs custom made with the evangelical “Jesus fish” symbol. Trophies are awarded at the end of the day to accompany the stains and welts of paintball combat.

John Szarkowski wrote in Mirrors and Windows: American Photography since 1960, about the conception of a photograph: “is it a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world?”

My intent is to question the viewer as I question myself, and American culture, as to whether there is contradiction in serving the Prince of Peace by providing a place for aggressive confrontation.

The photograph titles are quotes from testimonials written by people who have played at Promised Land.

Make a Self-Portrait

Save someone a lot of time in 500 years or so...

I am unable to get the TED video to embed, you'll just have to go here to view it.

Beautiful women

This week there has been a bit of a buzz touched off by this article in the New York Times. Ed Winkelman posted on it from the point of view of a gallery owner. Joerg Colberg responded with his own viewpoint and further challenged a number of women bloggers to share his anger. Cara Phillips posted an extremely thoughtful response.

Today Liz Kuball and Amy Elkins have taken action. I am posting one of the badges on this site and will offer whatever resources I can whenever asked. To say that I am proud and heartened to see the creative, positive response to the questions raised by the article and subsequent discussion is an understatement. The Chelsea galleries can have whatever fits their aesthetic for beautiful, fashionable young women. I know where the true beauty lies. Leave it to the artists to transcend.

Street art

Go over to Wooster Collective to be charmed.

I had saved this post for a few days and in the meantime Wooster posted again, this time with videos. Even better!

The people have spoken

If you want to call a voting rate of around 4% of eligible voters (the number of visitors for the week), speaking. I can only hope you have a better record for important matters like government and American Idol. The vote came in at a strong majority of 71% in favor of opening it. Best of all I got an email from Mr. Phelps himself giving his blessing.

The book, Baghdad Suite, is all that I anticipated. Beautiful images that avoid heavy handed accusation but serve as compelling metaphors and powerful witness. A short essay at the back by Benjamin Glahn closes with this:

"All the doors are locked. And now, is there really any chance of getting out? Is there really any chance of returning to that intoxicating sense of consolation that was promised? The design, the construction, the sense of destiny, has it all come to reflect nothing more than a landscape of predictable defeat? Destiny and mythology, that intoxicating brine, have fallen into ruin. The mental construct dissolved, a complicated pile of destruction lies in revelation.

All that remains now are the credits. There will be no awards."

I would recommend ordering it, but a check of Dashwood Books indicates they are sold out.....