Mel Kadel

A little while back I discovered the work of Mel Kadel via Little Paper Planes and the husband treated me to a lovely print of Ms.Kadel's work via this fantastic & affordable online store,
Anyway, check out the quirky world of Mel Kadel here: www.melkadel.com


Stompers 36/100 © MelKadel

Hyeres Photography Festival 2008 & More

First prize at Hyeres 2008 went to Audrey Corregan, whose backside portraits of birds I find mesmerizing. The second prize went to Amira Fritz , who has an amazing palette and subtlety to her work. I love the light at dusk and dawn and she captures the magic of those hours and that light beautifully.Her work reminded me of a series of fashion photographs taken in the woods by Catherine Servel. Read more about Ms Fritz and Ms. Corregan on Conscientious.

Also a finalist at Hyeres was the work of Diana Scherer, which I found disturbing - not just the imagery of the dead animals as you would probably expect of me - but much of the macabre atmosphere in her work tugged at me.
I don't know how she went about creating her images depicting dead animals, but I would like to know. I will not just dismiss work because a dead animal is pictured and I am well aware of the complexity of the issue. I furthermore think that Ms. Scherer's photographs work well aesthetically, I am just wondering if they work for my personal ethics too. I like the work of Polly Morgan (who works with donations of animal bodies), but because of recent events Ms. Scherer's work, kept bringing my mind back to the 'starving dog art piece' which turned out to be a hoax much like the Yale student's recent hoax - or is it a hoax (artistically speaking) when it provokes this much discussion?

Joerg Colberg and Tema Stauffer both wrote about the (hoax) incident(s) as they were reported and unfolded. Mr. Colberg wrote a log entry titled "So what is art? (cont'ed)" after it became evident that the Yale student performance art piece was a stunt and Tema reflected on the internet & the information that we obtain via it, after discovering that the South American artist in fact did not starve a dog to death.
When I earlier posted about the report of the man that regrew part of his finger, my gut was a bit uncertain of its authenticity for a second because of the recent 'hoaxes', but my brain decided that the combination of the subject matter and the source should be enough to accept this as truth. At least I hope it is really true, because this is pretty amazing (well, except for the pig bladder part, but I guess growing those in a petri dish sans pig is close at hand -no pun intended).

Oh My Cavalier!

Mrs. Wolf(e) © Julianna Swaney

Last night I was browsing through Nylon and noticed they featured Little Paper Planes, a neat little online source for screen printed t-shirts, prints and more. One of the images used to illustrate what Little Paper Planes offers was by Julianna Swaney. Julianna is everywhere now. Her work was just recently shown in New York and can be seen in California next. If you are in Los Angeles swing by Lab 101 starting Saturday to see her work.

Julianna Swaney @
Lab 101
8539 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232-7444
(310)945 5974
April 26 - May 21, 2008

Hank Willis Thomas, Angela Davis @ Pratt

Black Power © Hank Willis Thomas

Urban Artists and the Politics of Visibility:
A Conversation with Angela Davis
When: April 23, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Where: Memorial Hall, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn (G train to Clinton/Washington)
Panelists: Hank Willis Thomas, Dread Scott, Amy Sananman,
Alan Ket.

By Popular Demand

Some snapshots from the incredible exhibit of the work of artist Cai Quo-Giang at the Guggenheim New York:

Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

Also in NYC: The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef @ The World Finacial Center (through August 31, 2008) and NYU's Windows on Broadway (through May 18, 2008). Hear about in below on Brian Lehrer:



Or read about it in Patrica Cohen's article "Want to Save a Coral reef? Bring Along Your Crochet Hook" for The New York Times.


Made Out of Yarn courtesy Margaret Wertheim

Oh, and check out Heather Hart's work here. Heather also frequently works with yarn.
And I mentioned the Wunderkammer blog before, but I figured this is a good time to mention JPolka's blog again: jpolka.blogspot.com

Exhibits

In New York - currently:

If you are into miniatures, this might tickle your fancy:
Dianne Blell @ Charles Cowles
537 West 24th Street
Through April 12, 2008

Poigant portaiture (like those of Susan Sontag & Candy Darling):
Peter Hujar @ Matthew Marks
523 West 24th
Through April 26, 2008

Beautiful palette & capture:
Fred Herzog @ Laurence Miller
20 West 57th Street
Through May 31, 2008

In Woodstock - currently:

Photography Now 2008 @ The Center for Photography at Woodstock (juried by Darren Ching)
59 Tinker Street
Through June 1, 2008


In New York - upcoming:

Sally Gall @ Julie Saul
535 West 22nd Street
May 13 though June 28, 2008


In London - upcoming:

See greats such as Rineke Dijkstra, Cindy Sherman, James Van Der Zee, Wolfgang Tillmans, Irving Penn, Diane Arbus, Henri Cartier-Bresson and more.
"Street & Studio: An Urban History of Photography" @ Tate Modern
Bank Side, London

Philip Geffer on Sze Tsung Leong

Listen to Philip Geffer discuss the works of Sze Tsung Leong via The New Yorkt Times website.

Stefan Ruiz

via aperturefoundation:

Parsons The New School for Design Lectures
Stefan Ruiz
Artist’s Lecture
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
6:30 p.m.

Aperture Gallery
547 West 27th Street, 4th floor
New York, New York
(212) 505-5555

As part of the ongoing lecture series hosted by Aperture and presented by the department of photography, Parsons The New School for Design, Stefan Ruiz will discuss the work from his recently published monograph, People (Chris Boot, 2006), which gathers striking portraits of Mexican soap stars, Cuban mental asylum residents, Texan cowgirls, and Rwandan refugees. Ruiz’s subjects reveal themselves and their vulnerability through his raw and edgy vision. While serving as Creative Director for COLORS magazine from 2002 to 2004, Ruiz also taught art at San Quentin State Prison. His work has been exhibited at the Havana Biennale, 2003; PhotoEspaña, Madrid, 2003; and an exhibition of the Televisa Studios series is now traveling around Europe.

Ryan McLennan: From Fur to Bone

More good stuff out West:
Ryan McLennan's (another favorite) "From Fur to Bone" Show opens this Saturday in Los Angeles at Kinsey/Des Forges -- the show will run through May 10th, 2008.


From Fur to Bone © Ryan McLennan/Kinsey/Des Forges

Opening Reception: April 5th, 2008 7:00 PM - 10:00PM
Kinsey/Des Forges
6009 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA

And coming in November 08 back East:
Ryan McLennan & Amy Ross at Transmission Gallery in Richmond, VA

Conversations with Charlie

I just posted Charlie Rose's conversations with five extraordinary women photographers (Sally Mann, Mary Ellen Mark, Annie Leibovitz, Nan Goldin & Taryn Simon) to the Nymphoto Blog, take a look here.
I wanted to single out the(se) women photographers for a moment,because I do think they deserve a special moment of recognition -- at the very least from me and particularly the older generation.
I also wanted to post this conversation by Charlie Rose with legendary Richard Avedon - an oldie but a goodie.

Jane Tam Telling It Like It Is

Homogeneity while easy is boring. And should not have a place in Art, but it does.
Unfortunately Photography is a particularly rigid and trend obsessed medium (can you hear me yawning?).

I blogged about Jane Tam before and how I really liked what she was going for in her work. I could see her think in her work -- and I like that.
Well Jane seems to share my frustration with the contemporary photography world.
Read her blog post "A little repetitive" here.

Oh and check out Jane's new online store.


From "Can I Come Home With You?" © Jane Tam

Alexander Gorlizki @ Daniel Weinberg

Yesterday was the reception for Alexander Gorlizki's solo show "Strange You Can Believe In" at Daniel Weinberg Gallery in Los Angeles. The exhibit will run through April 19th, 2008. As in his collaboration with Riyaz Uddin, Alexander's solo work is influenced by Surrealism - but in his personal work he explores it in a more abstract way. My two favorites of this exhibit are a color study reminiscent of the work of Robert Delaunay and color & pattern study titled " Close and Personal".


Colour Study, 2007 Pigment on paper © Alexander Gorlizki


Close & Personal, 2007 Gold & Pigment on Paper © Alexander Gorlizki

If you browese through the archives at Daniel Weinberg Gallery, you cam also see some previous works by Alexander, such as "Wig under a cloud" and "Bluering" .

Jane Tam (A Hurray for Contemporary Photography)

I have been meaning to write about Jane Tam, but wasn't quite sure what exactly I wanted to say, besides that I like her work. The very informed Rona Chang (who is at Fotofest and whose work you must check out if you are there) mentioned Jane Tam to me. Previously I - and also my dear friend Emily - blogged about how we are less excited about photography. While some of the new possibilities that came with digital have been amazing, there has also been a distinct negative impact felt in the photographic evolution from the digital revolution. Most unfortunately I find it harder and harder to find new photography that I like or/and find engaging.
But then came along Jane Tam. A native New Yorker, she is currently finishing her BFA at Syracuse University. She has a strong vision in her work already and apparently a solid foundation as well. I love her sense of color & atmosphere as displayed in her recent series "Asleep at Sea", her frankness in her series "Welcome Home" and I was completely sold on her work when I saw "Can I Come Home With You ?".


From the series "Asleep at Sea" © Jane Tam

Yesterday's mail brought home my piece from the Small Works Show - a personal work in which I combined drawing/painting with photography. So no doubt the importance of the personal and the exploration of mixed media have been on my mind. And Jane Tam did combine these elements in a very contemporary manner in her (book) project "Can I Come Home With You?"
- merging original images from her "Welcome Home" series with illustrations derived from found family photographs.


From the series "Can I Come Home With You?" © Jane Tam
-- or as I like to call it "The Audacity of Hope for Photography' ;)

Find out more about Jane Tam by visiting her comprehensive and delightfully easy to navigate & digest website: www.janetam.com - I love her name too ;)

Lori Nix

Horses Think always highlights interesting (new) photography. Today's blog was about Lori Nix. You might have seen her work in magazines or galleries. You can get better acquainted with her work via her website: www.lorinix.com.
Like Horses Think I really responded to "Vacuum Showroom, 2006" which is from a series titled "The City". I keep thinking that it would be great to see a show of Ms. Nix's work with the work of Robert Polidori.

Follow Up: Thomas Holton & Sasha Wolf

The New York Times yesterday reported in their City Section about Thomas Holton's work. The article is titled "Living Small" and was written by Bonnie Yochelson. It is accompanied by a slide show -- watch "2 Rooms on Ludlow" here.
Or even better if you are in New York, do visit Sasha Wolf Gallery and look at the actual prints of "The Lams of Ludlow Street", which will be on view through April 26, 2008. As I have written before this is noteworthy work, but Sasha Wolf also deserves credit.
Ms. Wolf has a keen curatorial eye and has added an outstanding exhibition space to downtown Manhattan. She is reviving more than one tradition by reintroducing relevant art to Lower Manhattan and by her choice to focus on quality documentary and post-documentary photographic work.
Read more about Ms. Wolf in The Tribeca Trib and the Downtown Express.

New Work By Ryan McLennan

Today I heard from one of my favorite contemporary painters, Ryan McLennan, whose new work you can see & purchase at BLK/RKT Gallery.
I can never get enough of Ryan's work and I love the new elements that he has recently introduced. His voice is only growing stronger and more expressive.
Ryan also has a show opening in three weeks at Kinsey/Des Forges in L.A. I will remind you of this as we get closer of the date :)

Meanwhile enjoy these works of Ryan's:


Expecting and Condo © Ryan McLennan

Close, Kurland, McGinness @ Danziger

Danziger Projects is currently showing three of my favorites in one group show: Chuck Close, Justine Kurland and Ryan McGinness. The show will be on view through April 5, 2008 at Danzinger Projects in New York. The press release states that the work is not necessarily thematically curated, though nature is a focus in all works. It's an interesting approach to group shows, that I think is not used often enough. Instead of exploring one issue only (which can produce outstanding exhibits) this group show captures the general Zeitgeist of contemporary visual art(ist)s by grouping together three currently relevant creatives.

Massimo Vitali @ Bonni Benrubi

Through March 29, 2008 the work of Massimo Vitali will be exhibited at Bonni Berubi Gallery in New York. I love Mr. Vitali's beach scenes, which are as complex as any of Andreas Gurksy's observations, but with a gentler color palette.

Looking: Hannah Whitaker & Taryn Simon

On my quest for inspiration, I decided to look a little beyond my usual suspects. One image that kinda really tickled me is by Hannah Whitaker, who I found via "Horses Think Don't Think".
I love the bunny image. It's so whimsical, yet so possible and as the blog remarked: clever.
Because of Amy Stein's Blog (always a good read) I was reminded of the work of Taryn Simon. Taryn Simon has a truly extraordinary career, particularly for her young age. Ms. Stein blogged (it's explicit, be warned) about an erotic picture Ms. Simon might have taken many years ago and seemed perplexed by the possibility that this image was indeed by Taryn Simon.
However as I recall (and correct me if I am wrong!) Ms. Simon started out with erotic or sexually provocative imagery. And it got her a lot of attention. She also used to do strictly commercial work.I believe there was a beautiful campaign with horses on a beach (yeah, yeah...I know horses) for Chloe and I remember several editorial portraits for main stream magazines too. (That there are not many traces left of her previous works is for a whole other blog post).
However now Ms. Simon exclusively works in Fine Art and increasingly successfully so -- her latest body of work "An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar" was original, meaningful and meticulously executed; and I do not find it surprising that Ms. Simon explored other avenues of photography (for whatever reasons) first. I think most artists go through different phases while they find refine their voice. Ms. Simon is so young and was successful so early on, that I think she did her creative exploring in the public eye (while most of us do it in anonymity while in school or before we have our first success). I also suspect that working in different genres of photography gave her an outstanding foundation in the craft, which immensely contributes to her successfully communicating through her work.
You can listen and watch Taryn Simon eloquently explain what drives her (and why she uses analog methods of photography!) on Charlie Rose: