The Iron Curtain
Leonid Brezhnev, from a small gallery of two pictures on englishrussia.com [via photoaddict]
Add commentJuly 3rd, 2008
WLTF
Work by Christian Castañeda, featured in WLTF
I wandered onto the site of a new online and print photo magazine called WLTF dedicated to… um… porn. It contains, rather surprisingly, quite a bit of interesting photography. Take a look at the first issue here, but it’s, predictably, NSFW [though, I suppose, neither is this blog even if it is for art].
An interesting element of the work that is displayed on the site is its similarities with the work of Ryan McGinley, Terry Richardson, Tim Barber and all of the Vice Magazine shooters. The work displayed in WLTF is essentially the same, except with more nudity, and the fact that it functions so well is a testament to the elements of fanatasy and desire in the artistic universes frequently featured in Vice.
The uncomfortable similarities between work of this type and how advertising and fashion photography uses our desires to compel a purchase has been a persistent problem for the shooters, particularly Ryan McGinley. It does, though, work awful well as porn.
Add commentJuly 3rd, 2008
Beatrix Von Conta
Beatrix von Conta, from the series “Tel Quel”
Zoum Zoum has a brief (oh so brief) write-up of Beatrix von Conta. I hadn’t seen her work before, but the samples on the blog are lovely. Inspired by this, I did a quick search for her other work and I have to admit I’m impressed. She has a lovely grasp of landscape and photo history.
Add commentJune 26th, 2008
In Archive News…
Veruschka in chemise, by Horst P. Horst, from Condé Nast’s online store.
Bibliothèque de Toulouse just joined Flickr’s commons.
And Shoot blogs about Condé Nast’s online store.
Add commentJune 26th, 2008
Ruining Photos
No words can describe this.
Ever seen Style Wars? That great documentary, set in 1983, is an overview of graffiti culture. The whole thing is presented as a kind of Eden, until about halfway through, when the “bombers” show up. Previously, most graph was these huge, glorious murals, intended to showcase the artists skill and get his name out through sheer artistic ability. When the bombers pop up, their M.O. is to basically tag as much as possible, as quickly as possible, frequently over other graffiti writers’ work.
The same thing is (kind of) happening with photography.
PDNPulse reports here.
Asylum, via The Moment, reports here. [The Moment also, incidentally, links to a gallery of photos of Charleton Heston's underground gun bunker. It feels very Taryn Simon.]
HAHAHAHA.
Add commentJune 26th, 2008
An Assistant’s Tale
Given that I currently gain a large portion of my income from assisting, I get a kick when the old timers start going with the tales. Reciprocity Failure has one such tale that starts (in my imagination) “When I was your age, Sonny, we had to walk 50 miles through the snow, uphill both ways…”
All kidding aside, though, I can’t count the number of times I’ve wanted to pull a stunt like this:
So I smiled at his self satisfied mug as I repositioned the office typewriter from his desk onto my shoulder (that’s right kids, computers were just a gleam in your mother’s eyes), walked out the studio, and slept soundly every Sunday morning since.
Read the full story here.
Add commentJune 26th, 2008
Provincial Japan
Guido Castaglioni, from the series “Provincial Japan”
Over on Foto8, Guido Castaglnoli has a glorious slideshow of work he’s done on small town Japan. I can’t help but find my own creepy parrallels with places like Coney Island and the strip malls that go for miles as you approach American cities.
1 commentJune 26th, 2008
What Is “Good” Art?
Ed Winkelman on his so-good-it’s-depressing blog has opened up a can of worms by opening a thread on “how we, collectively, conclude an artwork is ‘good.’” He goes over some interesting points, and what he misses his commenters pick up on. From one, Jonathon T.D. Neil:
Anything “collective,” consensus or otherwise, requires strong communicative channels with low entropy, and narrative offers one of the most enduring forms of this. Within the narratives or stories we tell ourselves and one another about works of art, there will always be stronger and weaker players or characters. The strength and weakness of those characters might have to do with their purchase on originality, or their (excessive) exchange value, or some other thing. Whatever it is, what matters is that it’s able to take root within an enduring narrative; indeed, it plays a part in making the narrative itself enduring. So, I think judging a work of art “good” depends upon the strength of the story it can either generate or in which it can take up residence (and so augment).
Go over there now to join the argument or just soak it all up.
Add commentJune 26th, 2008
Toru Aoki
Toru Aoki
Following with the generally morbid tone around here today, here are Toru Aoki’s ghostly images, featured on i heart photograph a while back.
Add commentJune 22nd, 2008
Suicide
She was right on target. Soaring from a thousand feet up, she hit the bull’s-eye, landing on top of the roof of the car, her long legs demurely crossed. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
From the NY Times article, “Crashing To Earth, Again And Again.” [via The Constant Siege]
Add commentJune 22nd, 2008