Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand @ the Metropolitan museum
March 1, 2011Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand @ the Metropolitan museum
March 1, 2011wow what a triumvirate of photography i thought when i heard of this exhibit being put on by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. this is going to be something special to see i told mary on our way up to the museum on a cold February afternoon.
when we were in paris we had an opportunity to see Steichen’s the ‘Conde Nash years‘ exhibit at the Musee de l’Elysee and i recently bought the accompaning book as the one at the show was in french and i don’t read french. the photos in that show were marvelous along with a movie taken during one of his photo shoots. talk about lights, wires, cameras everything was huge. a portrait of Gloria Swanson under a hat net was fabulous in person, really popped out at you, but given the restrains of book printing it looks ordinary in the book.
Gloria Swanson
see video of exhibit from florida
well this show considering who is represented is ordinary i was quite disappointed. the last major exhibit we saw in the photographic exhibit space was Robert Franks ‘The Americas’ which took up the four rooms and the hallway. the Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand exhibit only took up three rooms and the hallway. oh well
with Stieglitz being the oldest and father figure of the group encouraging their exterminating with new mediums and styles and giving them a place to publish their work in Camera Work, a copy which is under glass at the exhibit but can be purchased as a complete book on-line or in stores. Stieglitz is in the first of the rooms. in a way i thought each of these photographers could have filled the entire space with their own work. Stieglitz had early New York City and Georgia O’Keeffe to photograph, not bad subjects at all especially O’Keeffe’s hands, very powerful.
5th Ave
Georgia-OKeeffe-Hands
O'keeffe figure study
but to see the actual prints of these photographers and maybe a glimpse of their creative minds is pretty cool. what were they thinking comes to mind. in this digital world we are living in, i think some of what is important THE PRINT is being lost. seeing Steichen’s three prints of ‘The Flatiron” building side by side was very informative. Steichen used a mixed process of Gum bichromate underneath a Platinum print as his background as a painter made him willing to mix processes to achieve a desired effect.
The Flatiron
The Flatiron
mary and i both looked at each other after reading this repeating our in joke ‘he’d never get to be a member of Soho Photo with antics like this.’ which comes from my experience with their membership committee when i was denied membership due to one white mat not matching the others in the portfolio. never mind the attitude that the photo asks for, no really demands a certain paper or process. oh well i can’t open a closed mind nor would i care to look inside of one.
my first exposure to photography books was ‘The Family of Man’ which Steichen produced while at The Museum of Modern Art to coincide with the photographic exhibit hailed as the most successful exhibition of photography ever assembled in 1955. way before my developing mind could grasp the concept. i was just beginning to see girls never mind a family of men.
Paul Strand had a whole other artistic direction, although he to was a painter, where he began to develop his belief in the humanistic value of portraiture. not that he didn’t take pictures of his surroundings traveling around mexico and new england but i think we engage what we see or is it the other way around.
Blind
Mexican children
Wall street
the whole exhibit as small as it is, is about coming of age see the nytimes review and if you’re at least bit interested in photography i suggest dropping by and seeing for yourself these outstanding prints. remember the Metropolitan Museum od Art is a pay what you can museum.
have a good day
jene
me and my shadow, a companion missed, not peter pan
February 5, 2011my companion for over 13 years shadow had to be put to sleep this past monday and just remembering that makes tears start to form. she was a classy dog and fine companion right up to the end. at some point i may be able to write about her but not right now.
Shadow
mary wrote a wonderful entry on her blog at NY Mero ‘Quality of Life’ about the three of us. there is a big hole where shadow use to be, but she suffered way too much from getting old. it was time we all knew it and it came pretty suddenly she was ready for a rest. she struggled so much following us, moving from room to room, but she never complained not even a whimper. i remember how soft her hair was.
now if only human doctors would let us go that peacefully laying on the floor or anywhere. she died with dignity surrounded by her loved ones. but even some vets wanted to try and fix her kidneys which were failing, for what? didn’t they and doctors realize death become us? so does grief for those who risk love.
friday we decided to get out of the house/apt respectively and start visiting the world again. it’s been a tough two weeks what with all the snow storms, shoveling for hours although we’ve got it down pretty well.
Mary sent me some announcements of openings around town and we said ‘why not?’ it’s alway interesting to see what other artist are doing in the world so she came by and picked me up.
first we went to Art Bazaar, artist reception 6-9pm Group exhibition of @ 14 emerging artists. at
175 Seventh Ave. (20th Street) NYC. a small gallery crowded with friends of friends and a few interesting artist. one i found interesting but didn’t have time to talk with her, she seemed too busy talking with others. oh well
then we moved on to jen bekman gallery, 6 spring st, NYC, NY, for the opening of hey hot shot. i though art bazaar was small well jen bekman is tiny but filled to the brim of friends of friends overflowing onto the street. we tried to go in but couldn’t see anything too crowded so we left.
walking the street at dinner time the subject comes of where to eat? we came upon lombardi’s at 32 spring st. i told mary about the competition between them and john’s pizza both claiming to be the best in nyc, so why not give them a try. they had a zagat quote on their awning but maybe they got that for something other than pizza.
well it was friday nite but the place had tables right away. we were lead to one of the rooms through the kitchen. i didn’t see one italian in there but we sat down and ordered a small pizza, cesar salad and a glass of wine. the salad was fine, the wine was in one of the smallest glasses i’ve ever seem and when the pizza came it was burnt. i looked at all three pizzas that were around us which looked the same to me. mary likes the crust which i also do but not with a burnt taste. oh well they just won’t get our money any more. should i have said something? maybe it just didn’t seem that important what with all that had happened this past week.
Art Connections 7 opening reception invite
January 19, 2011the George Segal Gallery at The Montclair State University once again along with, Mary Durante Wehrhahn and i Jene Youtt cordially invites you and your guest to our special art exhibition and sale. Opening reception Sunday January 23, 2011, 2:00pm -5:00pm, 1 Normal Ave, Montclair, NJ 07043
* Access from the 4th floor of the Red Hawk Deck parking area adjacent to the Alexander Kasser Theater
Exhibition dates: January 18 – February 19, 2011. Gallery hours: tue,wed,fri & sat 10a to 5pm, thru 12:30p to 7:30p.
973 655 3382 / montclair.edu/segalgallery
we, mary & i, both have work showing this year. we would be more than happy to chat about our artistic styles and philosophy over a glass or two of wine. in the past we’ve met some interesting artist and photographers from all over here and they have met us.
i know this is during the green bay packer / chicago bears playoff game, and i’ve no idea what these college people are thinking when they plan these events, but hey maybe you don’t follow football and want to meet us. cool
Golden
submitting nude images to art contest
January 18, 2011ugh a dastardly chore but it gives me a chance to sit here in front of my computer screen perusing hard drives and long ignored files. in a way i get to see my images in a new light as it were. today i processed color images to B&W and found some pretty cool images of a young female artist i had the privilege to work with a few years ago.
Caught
well to you observant types yes you’re right…this is a male image i threw in because i thought this was pretty cool and had worked on it also to submit to SHOTS magazine which is a B&W mag.
but i’ll try and show the images in color then B&W so we may see the difference. first let me say the young artist didn’t seem too happy with my images. she had said she was looking for images to post for fine art modeling. heck i thought that’s right up my alley so it should be pretty easy. at least i liked some of them.
young artist portrait
a bit dramatic i guess but we went all over trying different looks in the same dress and some not.
B&W
it’s hard for me to be objective about my work, love it when the clients are ecstatic but to get nothing from them is hard. i do meet a lot of people that way, maybe it’s a generational thing.
another version
then B&W
B&W
but just so you don’t get the idea we lost our vision for what she said she wanted images for we did some of these
nude female
and then this
B&W
yes the lighting is a bit dramatic as i was using my lowel lighting tungsten package.
reclining nude
but this image works much better in B&W than it does in color unlike the others above, but then what do i know, i just pushed the button
B&W
do i think any of these images are prize winning? i’ve no idea but it keeps me from causing too much trouble out here in the world, although i did submit a complaint against con edison to the public service commission and another to my landlord for the conditions in my public hallways today. it’s raining too hard to be wandering around the streets of New York.
FM jockeys out there? Open Call for Artist Projects – ExiTrip
January 10, 2011Open Call for Artist Projects – ExiTrip
For this project, we will distribute hacked low power FM transmitters (called the iTrip) to artists of different creative disciplines and work with them to create artworks using, though not necessarily focusing on, this device. An express goal of this project is to empower artists with diverse technical and economic backgrounds to create works using radio. This constitutes a social experiment involving creative responses to a common tool. Once an artist has completed their project, we will document the work for a book that will go to print early next year. This is a great opportunity to work with an extremely flexible piece of electronics and have your work published in a very sexy looking book.
Some background about the iTrip: We recently found these devices on ebay for about .80 cents a pop…. So we bought 500. The device’s original use was a way to listen to an Ipod through the car radio while driving. As is, the iTrip can only take signal from a specific generation of Ipod, but with a little reprogramming, we have found a way to allow the device to be able to take any audio input. This opens up the iTrip to an array of artistic possibilities including audio effects, oscillators, wireless microphones, sensors, transmitters, micro-controller etc. Because they are so cheap we can give you quite a few, if you want many. While radio is the intended application, these things cost dimes on the dollar in just hardware so this could be a really cheap way to build a synth or performance gear, add some layers to visual or installation pieces, or just learn things.
Here is a link to the project website that has examples of projects in progress and more detailed technical info on the device: https://sites.google.com/site/exitrip2012/ and also:
http://www.free103point9.org/works/496
An essential aspect of this project is to involve a diverse group of artists, some of whom have worked with creative electronics and transmission, and some who have not. We are looking to work closely with artists who need hands on assistance to work with the device, in order to further modify it to suit the needs of their projects.
To apply, send the following to: Edbearleab@gmail.com
– Current CV
– Link to a website or 5-10 images, sounds or video that best represents your previous work
– A short (less than 2 pages) proposal of how you might like to work with the ExiTrip.
Deadline is Feb 15th 2011
For questions: Lbertucci@gmail.com
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Call for Papers – ExiTrip Project
We will repurpose the iTrip Nano FM transmitter to function without an Apple iPod, giving the device a new life as a self contained open-source hardware platform for subversive/creative acts by selected contemporary artists. We will then compile and document the projects produced by these artists and develop a multimedia web and print catalog around the new work. We have selected this specific outmoded device, the iTrip Nano FM transmitter, to exemplify the potential impact of re-engineering consumer devices originally destined for landfills. At 40¢ each on Ebay, the low price creates unprecedented distribution opportunities for a low power transmitter and encourages end-user experimentation.
An express goal of this project is to empower artists with diverse technical and economic backgrounds to create works using radio. This constitutes a social experiment involving creative responses to a common tool.
The end product of the archive research and vigorous documentation will be an online and print multimedia book. The document’s purpose will be threefold: to provide detailed technical instruction for the iTrip hack, to document the resulting artists’ projects, and to provide critical and historical context to the newly created work
The occupation of the public in Hertzian space is fundamentally controlled by access to electronic technology. To advance the practice of repurposing commercial electronics is to further the reach, relevance, and accessibility of transmission in art and society. The proposed project will critically, materially, and publicly develop, experiment with, and codify the historical and contemporary relationship between creative electronics and transmission artists.
For more info and descriptions of projects in progress, please see: https://sites.google.com/site/exitrip2012/ and http://www.free103point9.org/works/496
We are looking for writers to contribute on any of the following topics:
1. Creative Electronics
2. Transmission/Radio Art
3. Parallels between Creative Electronics and Radio Arts
4. Design Practices (Planned Obsolescence, consumerism etc)
7. This project as social experiment and community building
8. Electronic Waste/ Recycling
9. Art Historical context (hacking, radio, trash art)
10. Subverting corporate electronics/design to make weird stuff, violating FCC regulations, pirate radio, general naughtiness etc.
** This list is in no way all inclusive, so any topics that were not listed and are relevant to the project, please feel free to mention.
To Apply send the following to edbearleab@gmail.com
1. A short summary of your essay.
2. Proposed word count. We are offering three different word count ranges – Short: 700 – 1100 words, Medium: 1100 – 1800, Long: 1900 – 3000000000
3. CV and links to any previous writing.
Deadline: Feb 15th 2011
For questions please email Lbertucci@gmail.com
GOOD LUCK
no pants subway ride – january 9, 2011, all are invited
January 7, 2011
All are invited to participate in the 10th Annual No Pants Subway Ride. The event will take place at 3:00 PM on Sunday, January 9. Everything you need to know is in this post. Please read it carefully!
REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION:
1) Willing to take pants off on subway
2) Able to keep a straight face about it
**THIS IS A PARTICIPATORY EVENT. DO NOT SHOW UP UNLESS YOU PLAN TO TAKE YOUR PANTS OFF. THIS INCLUDES THE MEDIA.**
DETAILS
When: Sunday, January 9 at 3:00 PM, Sharp! (Over by around 5:30)
Where: Six meeting points spread out all over New York City. Details below.
Bring: A backpack/bag and a metro card.
Wear: Normal winter clothes (hat, gloves, etc)
Facebook: You can RSVP to the Facebook Event
Complete logistics below:
HOW IT WORKS
There are six meeting points this year. Take your pick.
Astoria: Meet at Hoyt Playground – Google Map
Brooklyn: Meet by the Old Stone House – Google Map
Downtown Manhattan: Meet at Foley Square – Google Map
Queens: Meet at the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Park – Google Map
Uptown Manhattan: Meet at the Great Hill in Central Park – Google Map
Williamsburg / Bushwick: Meet at Bushwick Park (AKA Maria Hernandez Park) – Google Map
Everyone should meet at their chosen meeting point at 3 PM. Please be on time. Feel free to be early.
At the meeting points, participants will be organized into groups and assigned a specific train car. Once everyone is divided up we will all head to nearby subway station[s]. Do not talk to others once you enter the subway system. No one knows each other.
Sit in the car as you normally would. Read a magazine or whatever you would normally do. Your team leader will have already divided you into smaller groups, assigning your group a specific stop where you will depants.
As soon as the doors shut at the stop before yours, stand up and take your pants off and put them in your backpack. If you’d like to use a briefcase, purse, grocery bag, or whatever instead of a backpack that’s fine too. If anyone asks you why you’ve removed your pants, tell them that they were “getting uncomfortable” (or something along those lines.)
Exit the train at your assigned stop and stand on the platform, pantless. You will wait on the platform for the next train to arrive. Stay in the exact same place on the platform so you enter the next train in the same car as you exited the last train.
When you enter, act as you normally would. You do not know any of the other pantless riders. If questioned, tell folks that you “forgot to wear pants” and yes you are “a little cold.” Insist that it is a coincidence that others also forgot their pants. Be nice and friendly and normal.
All train routes will converge on Union Square. Your exact route will be explained at the meeting point, and may involve a transfer.
You can wear fun underwear if you like, but nothing that screams out, “I wore this because I’m doing a silly stunt.” Wear two pairs of underwear if it makes you feel more comfortable. Don’t wear a thong or anything else that might offend people. Our aim is to make people laugh, not piss them off.
If you haven’t already, please take a moment to read about previous No Pants Subway Rides.
Please leave your cameras at home and resist the temptation to snap photos with your iPhone, etc. while the event is happening. Take as many as you like before and after the event, but during the ride we really want people to enjoy the experience of participating rather than documenting. It detracts from the mission if everyone is taking photos of each other rather than keeping a straight face. Don’t worry, we have photographers assigned to every meeting point who will take great photos.
This is always a blast, and we look forward to seeing you there. You may bring along friends if you like, but make sure they get a chance to read all of these instructions.
See you on the 9th!
(Information for participating in other cities is here.)
Be aware that by participating, you recognize that Improv Everywhere is not liable in the event you are injured, arrested, or worse. By choosing to participate you are still responsible for your actions.
the great naked Leica M9 give-away
January 5, 2011January 5th 2011 – THE GREAT LEICA M9 GIVE-AWAY CONTEST HAS BEGUN!
The time has come! The Leica M9 Give-Away has begun! Read on for the details…the rules…and how YOU can win this Leica M9 signed by both Seal and myself on the inside bottom plate. Spread the word to all of your photo friends and send them here so they can also enter this amazing contest! ONE OF YOU READING THIS NOW WILL WIN THIS LEICA M9!
THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF Seal (~6)
The Black M9 that we are giving away was donated by ~6 (Seal) which was his previous personal M9. He just recently received his gorgeous Titanium M9 ( see his post HERE) so he kindly donated his black M9 to this site so we could give it away in this contest. Not only that…since NO ONE has ever given away a $7000 Leica M9, the inside bottom plate will be signed by both of us to mark this special occasion!
What most of you already know is that the man who posts here as “~6″ is the recording artist and photographer Seal. If you did not know that, now you do. This contest/giveaway was his idea and when he approached me about it I was VERY excited. I mean, what other website has given away something like a Leica M9? Seal is not only intensely passionate about music, but also photography and I am proud to call him on of my dearest friends. How cool is it that he has donated his personal BLACK M9 to give away here? IT’s AMAZINGLY INCREDIBLE!
Since he has been so generous with the M9 donation for the up coming contest I wanted to mention HIS new website.
Just recently Seal has launched a very cool photo website called picortwo.com and I urge you to go check it out and register to follow your favorite photographer. Basically you can follow any photographer on the site..Seal, his wife Heidi, or any of the other photographers on the site. Just by entering your e-mail address you will recieve a pic or two in your mailbox every day that they took during the day.
For example, if you are following Seal, every day you will get a pic or two in your email that he shot THAT DAY. It’s like you are following the daily life of the photographer you follow. So make sure you go check it out at picortwo.com. Browse the photographers and follow whoever you like. It’s REALLY cool and REALLY fun.
–
What you have been waiting for! How you can enter and win this camera!
Anyone can enter and anyone can win. Well, anyone who is passionate about photography that is. We wanted to make sure that whoever wins it will cherish it and USE it for their photography. Hell, I would love to have it myself but I would rather give it away to a reader here who has that passion and love for photography. That is what this site is all about..the passion!
So here is how to enter, along with the rules:
It is a photo submission contest but it is about telling a story with only 2 photos. This is called “sequential narrative photography” or creating a photo narrative. This can be challenging, fun, and also spark your creative juices. In case you need some pointers, Here is a description I found online of a photo narrative.
These photos can be of any subject but you must pic a topic for your story. Just make sure that the images form a narrative and tell a story. The only thing being judged here is the two photos and the topic/title.
Also, just for my information, along with the photos tell me something about yourself (just a short 2-3 sentences) and why a Leica M9 would help you in your photographic journey. That is it. This contest is NOT about what equipment you use to take the shots. As a matter of fact, you can use a cel phone to take the images and yes, a cel phone image may just win. Again, it is NOT about the equipment but more about the photos as a set.
–
How the winners will be chosen..
At the deadline, all submissions will be looked over and I will pick the top 10. After that, the top 10 will be sent directly to the two final judges who will pick the winners.
Who are the two final judges? Seals wife, Heidi Klum and professional photographer Rankin will do the honor of choosing the first and second place winners. Yep, this contest is big time now and yes, there is a 2nd place price which is being supplied by Leica Camera themselves! Exciting huh?
–
The Prizes:
The 1st place prize:
A black Leica M9 which is slightly used. This was Seal’s personal M9 and will be signed by the both of us on the inside bottom plate. This is a $7000 camera if buying new.
The 2nd place prize:
The 2nd place prize will be a new in box Leica V-Lux 2 supplied by Leica Camera. $849 value. Pretty cool huh?
–
THE FIVE STEPS TO WINNING THE LEICA M9
OK here is how you can officially enter this contest.
Step 1:
You must go over to picortwo.com and register and follow at least one photographer at the site. For example, yuo can follow Seal, Heidi or Rankin and you will get an e-mail with their pics when they submit a pic or two from their daily lives. This step is mandatory! If you are already registered then move to Step 2.
Step 2:
You must also be registered at this site. When you register here this will allow you to not only enter all contests but will also allow you to post in the forums and take part in future activities here on the site. So after you register over at picortwo.com you must register here. To do so, click HERE. This step is also mandatory! If you are already registered here, move to Step 3.
Step 3:
Take your photos. To enter you must submit only 2 photos that form a story. We must be able to know what is going on by looking at the photos so because of this there will be no text explaining the photos, just your topic. For example your topic could be called “People in the Park”. Take 2 photos that form a narrative and number them in sequential order. Submit them to me at my e-mail stevehuff1@mac.com along with your name, address, e-mail address, age, topic title and tell me about you and your photographic passion (but keep it short and brief..no essays). Photos must be shot between now and the deadline date of February 5th 2011.
Step 4:
HELP SPREAD THE WORD!
I want as many photographers to know about this as possible. I want EVERYONE to be able to have a shot at this so help me spread the word by tweeting this, or by posting it to your facebook (you can use the handy buttons at the top of this page to do so), or mentioning it wherever you can – digg, forums, or wherever! Just linking back to this page will help tremendously and make this contest a success. If it is a success, more will come 
This is not a mandatory step of course, but will help me out a bit.
Step 5:
Get excited and Wait. I will be accepting submissions starting today, January 5th 2011. Submissions will end on February 5th 2011. The contest duration is 30 days. On February 15th I will post the top 10 winners on this site along with their photos. The top 10 will then go to Heidi Klum and Rankin for final selection. The winner will be announced on March 1st 2011 and the Leica M9 will be shipped out to the winner by March 15th 2011.
The 2nd place winner will win a Leica V-Lux 2 supplied by Leica Camera. Both cameras will be shipped by me via FedEx to the winners no later than March 15th 2011.
–
THE RULES – Follow them or be disqualified! READ READ READ! IMPORTANT!
- You must register at picortwo.com and stevehuffphoto.com to be eligible to enter and win. Again, to be clear – you will only be eligible to win if your name and email address is registered at both websites. See steps 1 & 2 above to do this.
- When you submit your images make them no larger than 1300 pixels wide but also no smaller than 680 pixels wide.
- You must submit TWO images that form a narrative to enter and win.
- Include your name, address, email address, age, and topic title with the submission and a short note about you and your passion for photography.
- Photos can be taken with ANY camera – film, digital, or even a cel phone. This is not about the gear you are using to take the photos but more about the photos themselves.
- You can submit only ONE SET of images that tell a story – no text explaining what the story it, just a topic title. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.
- Photos for this contest must be taken between the submission dates (1/05/11 – 02/05/11). In other words, they must be taken for this contest. No old photos allowed.
- EXIF Data must be present in the photos so I can verify dates. If you do not know what this means then you should be OK. Basically do not strip the EXIF data! If shooting film, just let me know the dates you shot the film.
- Contest begins on 1/05/11 and the deadline for your submission will be 2/05/11. Top 10 will be chosen by Steve Huff on 2/15/11 and they will be posted on the site for all to see. The final two winners will be chosen by Heidi Klum and Rankin and announced on March 1st 2011.
- The 1st prize is a black Leica M9 signed by Seal and Steve Huff. This was the personal M9 of Seal, so it is used but in great shape. The 2nd place prize will be a new Leica V-Lux 2.
- THIS IS A WORLDWIDE CONTEST! No matter where you live, you can enter!
- Steve Huff, Seal, and family members are not eligible to enter or win (Damn!)
- The decision of all judges is FINAL. No complaining, no whining and no bitching allowed in the comments. Keep it fun and let’s all have a good time.
- Finally, your submitted images may be shown on the site if you make the top 10 so you are giving rights for me to show your images here if you make it.
–
–
TELL A STORY WITH PHOTOGRAPHS!
There are several ways to tell a story with sequential photos that reveal a moment, or a narrative. Get your creative juices flowing.
NARRATIVE: A good story has a beginning, middle, and an end. Lots of information can be told in as little as two photos but basically we want to be able to look at the photos and see the story. Get creative and be confident. ANYONE can win. Do not worry about what you use to shoot with as we are not looking for the best technical quality or highest resolution. If you have the ability to tell a great story with photographs then you deserve and have a great chance to win the M9.
SEQUENTIAL PHOTOS: Maybe you want to submit a set of photos that reveal a moment? For example, maybe you are shooting in the street and you see something funny that happens and can be caught within 2 frames. Does it reveal a moment or tell a story? If so, send them in. Have fun out there and get creative.
–
AS ALWAYS, I NEED YOUR HELP TO KEEP THIS SITE GOING AND GROWING!
Again, this site has been able to stick around and grow over the past two years thanks you YOU, the readers. Those who come here every day to see whats new, to see the passion of photography alive and well and to join in the discussions.
Thanks to you guys helping me out with buying your photo gear from my links to B&H Photo and Amazon
So here are those direct links again and if you ever need any photo related gear you can use the B&H Photo Link HERE (not able to bookmark the B&H link, must be clicked on from this site). If you like AMAZON, anything you buy there will help me out with pennies on the dollar (it adds up) and you can use that link HERE (and can bookmark the Amazon link!). You can also use the handy search boxes on the upper right side of any page.
Also, be sure to follow me on twitter, facebook and my RSS feed here. This all helps me out! Also, for more discussion you can visit my forums here on the site
mixed greens opening jan 13,2011
January 4, 2011
Heather Rasmussen, Pier J, Los Angeles, California. Google Satellite Photograph, 3/39/2004, 1”=1’-0’, (with integration of collapsed stacks). 2010, 53 x 96 inches, cardstock and tape on paper
Tuesday curated by mr. and mrs. amani olu
On view: January 13 – February 12, 2011
Opening: Thursday, January 13, 2011, 6PM
Curator’s Talk: Saturday, January 15, 2011, 2–3PM
Mixed Greens
531 W. 26th Street, 1st Fl.
New York, NY 10001
mixedgreens.com
Exhibiting artists: Conor Backman, Joy Drury Cox, Jon Feinstein, Van Hanos, Heather Rasmussen, Peter Segerstrom, Breanne Trammell, and Jennifer Marman & Daniel Borins
Mixed Greens is pleased to present Tuesday, our first exhibition organized by an independent curator. We are excited to let amani olu take the reins and unite an incredible mix of emerging artists to explore and deepen our understanding of the everyday in contemporary art.
In 1849, French artist Gustave Courbet painted The Stone Breakers, which captures two men in the act of breaking stones, traditionally the lowest class of work in French society. Courbet presents their menial labor in a straightforward manner, omitting romanticized and idealized gestures. This radical painting is the first historically significant depiction of everyday content in art. Almost fifty years later, Marcel Duchamp enraged the art world with his seminal ready-made sculpture, Fountain. By the 1960s, Andy Warhol was producing paintings of Coke bottles, Campbell Soup cans, and high profile American celebrities. Courbet, Duchamp, and Warhol employed everyday content in their work in part to upset bourgeois sensibility. Courbet’s paintings rejected the historical and fictional subjects found in Neoclassicism and Romanticism, Duchamp’s Fountain posed an epistemological question (What is art?), and Warhol celebrated and criticized Post–War Americana by appropriating its iconic imagery. Warhol’s successful consideration of consumer products and popular culture is what gave rise to the inclusion and critical reception of the quotidian in art since the 1960s.
Akin to Courbet, Duchamp, and Warhol, contemporary artists continue to explore the everyday from a literal perspective, often through representation of content or emphasis on materials. Tuesday, however, aspires to expand the field of everydayness by culling together contemporary works that are less obvious manifestations of the everyday. Embodying various forms of the quotidian from noticing to the commonplace, this exhibition attempts to engage viewer expectations. On the surface, the proposed works are seemingly beholden to one central idea; yet, through a combination of artist dialogue and interpretation, the everyday, once subtlety embedded in the object, becomes apparent. Despite the substantial relationship to the everyday in their work, this subject does not necessarily motivate the exhibiting artists. The aim, then, is to pull their work apart and re-contextualize it with the intention of discovering new meaning and promoting further understanding.
For additional information, please contact Courtney Strimple at courtney@mixedgreens.com or call 212 331 8888.
thanks: humbleartsfoundation.org
the history of digital cameras & other mind wanderings
January 4, 2011The history of digital cameras
Thirty-five years ago—in December 1975—an engineer named Steven Sasson snapped a photo with the world’s first fully digital camera at a Kodak lab. It took 23 seconds to record a 100-by-100-pixel image to cassette tape. Not until the early 1990s, however, did digital photo technology take off, launching an attack that would conquer the consumer camera industry in less than a decade. In the slides ahead, let’s examine some highlights of digital camera history.
1st digital camera
if this interests you then you might want to go to Wikipedia’s ‘history of the camera’ web page for some pretty cool cameras and history. the article shows my first camera, the Kodak No 2 Brownie, actually it was my families camera that i decided to use on my own, always an interesting experience seeing grown ups reaction to what kids do.
but the article misses my first real camera purchase during my stay in Munich with the US Army. i couldn’t afford a Lieca so i got an Exakta made in the USSR Germany. it had a 1.8 zena lens on it, whoooo.
exackta IIa
i loved that camera and kept it for years. when i lived in Greenwich village i found a sign in Cambridge camera that said ‘We fix Exakta’s.’ that’s where i first met Norm who took care of my baby for years until it couldn’t be repaired anymore because of the film advance gears being stripped beyond repair.
he swapped it for a Canon AE1 and lenses. i went on to purchase an F1 and an AE1 programmable but now i had to get use to a right hand film advance. this was a turning point in my photography but i didn’t know enough then to realize what was going on, sometimes i wake up in the morning wondering what i know now as i stumble to the MR Coffee pot.
this morning, writing in my journal, about what to do this year i looked up at 8 shoe boxes of film i could begin scanning into computer and a shutter goes through my body. oh how i dread scanning film and slides into computer. but i know i’ve some lovely stuff in the boxes and in the chrome archive books. but the though crosses my mind maybe i’ll call the dentist and see about some root canal work instead.
i look on my book shelf and pull out my Exakta camera 1933-1978 book by Clement Aguila & Michel Rouah from years ago and flip through the pages looking for my IIa and Zena lenses. i love German lenses. that’s why i’ve a Contax Nx and a Hasselblad 503 but i have kept my Canon F1 just to shoot infrared film as the Nx is an film auto loader which won’t allow infrared film to be used it confuses the auto reader in the camera. it was a shame that Kyocera discontinued their Contax N Digital so soon after developing it. i was heart broken.
i guess i could buy on of those N mount adapters and put my Zeiss lenses on my 5D MII and see what happens. would it improve my photos? well since no one is buying them right now why bother?
some roman church statue
this is taken with a Canon 20D, so it’s not so much the camera that makes the picture more about time & place and vision.
the chore on hand right now for me is to gather my Diablo rojos notes, which i did yesterday and separate them in to categories. i also found on amazon a dvd video about them which i ordered. today i’ll do more research, which is right next to film scanning on the list, but discovery can be exciting. after all we need to put down a date for our next Panama trip, find housing and schedule interviews.
as always, i am waiting to hear back from people today. things could be worst with the boiler not working or no hot water, all the comforts of new york city living.
Fuzzypictures's Weblog 