Monday, July 31, 2006

Fidel Castro

The Skatalites... Fidel Castro (.mp3 audio 03:17).

Jimmy Forsyth: Scotswood Road

Jimmy Forsyth: Scotswood Road - Working class community in Newcastle upon Tyne, photographed in the 1950s and 1960s. "...Scotswood Road, a typical working class area in the West End of Newcastle, became home for James (Jimmy) Forsyth after he was transferred from his native Barry. In 1954, motivated by an awareness that radical changes were imminent, Forsyth embarked upon a major documentation of his immediate surroundings. Having no knowledge of photography, and the use of only one eye after an industrial accident, the skills of the practice were acquired through pure trial and error." From Side Photographic Gallery.

Cuba Chronicles

Elaine Ling... Jesus and the Buddha (Havana, 2000). From Cuba Chronicles - photographs by Elaine Ling at Zone Zero. "...In Cuba, an island caught between the grandeur of old world glory and the decay of the immediate epoch, I found an urban landscape that reflects a struggle between daily life and the slow forces of Nature, and a religion that has superimposed the old world African demigods onto the new world Roman Catholic saints."

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Walk, Don't Run

The Marty Cooper Clan... Walk, Don't Run (.mp3 audio 02:11). Very annoying. From the album New Sounds ... Old Goodies, The Wild Voices of the Marty Cooper Clan (1963, RCA Victor LPM-2694/LSP-2694) at Space Age Pop Music.

The Pittsburgh Signs Project

The Pittsburgh Signs Project. "...Signs are always trying to say something. Signs make our spaces a mongrelization of type-styles, graphics, and fashions: The futuristic becomes the modern becomes the dated becomes the retro. The passage of time provides the subtexts of rust, faded paint, and delamination. Signs are necessarily brash, democratic, and confessional."

Live Stiffs

Elvis Costello & The Attractions... I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself (.mp3 audio 02:19). From the album Live Stiffs (Stiff Records, 1977), one of the best cut-out lps I ever purchased. From Post-Punk Junk.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Shomei Tomatsu: Skin of the Nation

Shomei Tomatsu: Skin of the Nation Shomei Tomatsu: Skin of the Nation at SFMOMA. "...Little known outside his home country, Shomei Tomatsu is widely considered the most important figure in Japanese postwar photography. His photographs span more than 50 years, examining, in an absolutely personal and unique vision, the island nation in the years since World War II. Cinematic in scope and presentation, the approximately 240 photographs on view in Skin of the Nation — the first major American retrospective of Tomatsu’s work — provide a candid look at the aftereffects of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, the influence of American military and popular culture, and the impact of the post-1960s economic boom in Japan. Comprising black-and-white as well as color pictures, the exhibition conveys a quiet brilliance, celebrating the photographer's uncompromising regard toward a complex, nuanced subject."

B. A. Bosaiya: Angels and Insects

B. A. Bosaiya: Angels and Insects. "...Angels and Insects is a unique series of photographs taken by B. A. Bosaiya. These images, created using a modified 4x5 view camera and traditional film and darkroom-based methods, create an atmosphere that is antique and primaeval. The subjects are both grotesque and lovely; their tiny faces convey winsomeness and ferocity that is almost human." Also... Air Conditioners of Philadelphia by Bruce Grant. From FILE Magazine - a collection of unexpected photography.

Kiddie Rides

Kiddie Rides (Color, 1998-2002). From Photographs by Meredith Allen of NYC.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Ghost Town

The Specials... Ghost Town (.mp3 audio 05:57). Extended version featuring one of the finest trombone solos ever - go RICO!

Excerpt from The Photographer, His Wife, Her Lover

Excerpt from The Photographer, His Wife, Her Lover (.wmv video 03:02). "...Fifteen years ago Paul Yule created a documentary film about one of Americas greatest stills photographer - Winston Link. Link, 76 at the time, earned his reputation from photographs of train engines taken in the Fifties. In 1983 Link married Conchita who was twenty years younger than him. Conchita became his business manager making his reputation and the value of his photographs soar while turning Link into a celebrity. Soon after the completion of that film a terrible scandal broke out in the art world. It transpired that Conchita had been cheating on Link with another man, terrorized and imprisoned him in their home, to finally steal his assets and wealth. Following the widely reported divorce, Conchita found herself locked up behind bars. Link died in 2001 and Yule decided to reconstruct the Link affair by making a new film." Also... a Review of The Photographer, His Wife, Her Lover by Noel Murray at The A.V. Club.

Ron van Dongen: In Bloom, New Botanical Studies

Ron van Dongen: In Bloom, New Botanical Studies Ron van Dongen: In Bloom, New Botanical Studies. b/w and color photographs by Ron van Dongen. "...In the foreword to Ron van Dongen's first monograph, Alba Nero (Nazraeli Press, 1999), Steven Jenkins describes the brilliance of Ron van Dongen's floral studies. He comments, '...rarely has the infinite mystery of a dahlia or magnolia been visualized with such hushed reverence and elegiac intensity as in the photographs of Ron van Dongen.' Jenkins continues, 'He shows us the flower as resourceful and delicate, decorative and essential, sacred and sensual, life force and death knell.' These images are always suggestive of all that is beyond our tethered reach.
One of the most amazing aspects of Ron's art is that he cultivates all of the plants and flowers that he photographs in his own back yard gardens in Portland, Oregon. His fourth book, Ops Opis, was published by Nazraeli Press in 2004."

A Passion for Asia: The Rockefeller Family Collects

A Passion for Asia: The Rockefeller Family Collects at Asia Society and Museum, 725 Park Ave, New York, NY. "...The Rockefeller Family Collects will feature 150 of the most stunning and important Asian art works originally purchased and owned by three generations of Rockefellers, including objects now held in both public and private collections. The exhibition draws heavily from The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, a collection of extraordinary quality and depth that was bequeathed to the Asia Society in 1978. The gem-like Rockefeller Collection-ranging from sculpture to imperial porcelain and representing a geographic span from present-day Afghanistan to East and Southeast Asia-is recognized around the world as one of the premier holdings of Asian art. However, the Collection is also widely admired for its very special character, a unique cohesiveness that reflected the personal tastes and cultural passions of Mr. and Mrs. Rockefeller themselves."

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Accidental Mysteries

Accidental Mysteries - Extraordinary Vernacular Photographs from the Collection of John and Teenuh Foster. "...John and Teenuh Foster share a passionate interest in collecting works of art by self-taught artists, as well as anonymous objects that to them, share attributes of great design and mystery. They consider vernacular photography to be a long overlooked genre of folk art, capturing elements of history, sociology, psychology and often 'accidental' moments on film."

Olbram Zoubek: Ještě... / Still...

Olbram Zoubek: Ještě... / Still... at galerie art svìtlana a luboš jelínkovi. "...Only some artists manage to create work of high artistic quality which appeals to common people at the same time. Olbram Zoubek has become the most famous Czech sculptor because of sculptures charismatic mannor and bold civic attitude.
A cycle of bronze reliefs called 'Ještě' (Still) the basis of the exhibition, which is presented in Chrudim Gallery at the moment for the first time at all. The artist has recapitulated his most important and favourite topics which are connected with his first wife Eve, antic inspiration and portraits of women who influenced him. The exhibition 'Ještě' (Still) has been prepared on the occasion of his 80th birthday anniversary."

Night Vision: Photographs of William Gedney and Lynn Saville

Night Vision: Photographs of William Gedney and Lynn Saville. "...Night photographs of each of the artists were on exhibit in five different shows in Washington, D.C., London, and New York City in 2004-2005. The idea for Night Vision, a joint exhibit of their nocturnal photography, developed from a conversation with Lynn Saville about her experience of studying with Bill Gedney as a student at Pratt Institute in the early 1970s. The exhibit seemed like a natural because of their mutual passion for nighttime photography and because the work of both artists is archived in Duke University’s Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. Lynn Saville, with the assistance of her husband, Philip Fried, chose all of the images for Night Vision on one long summer afternoon."

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Dinh Q. Lê: Tapestries

Tapestries Dinh Q. Lê: Tapestries at P·P·O·W in New York, NY. "...Continuing to use woven photographs, Lê will present a new body of work that reflects his thoughts on the current situation in Vietnam, where the artist lives and works. Using flowers as the main motif, Lê interweaves symbols of mourning and celebration, crisscrossing wreaths with bouquets. Lê offers this work as a study of a country in repair and concentrates on the renewing energy of life after years of loss." Also... More works by Dinh Q. Lê and From Vietnam to Hollywood, a previous exhibition.

Wang Guangyi: Art and People

Wang Guangyi... Great Criticism - Art Today (2005, oil on canvas). From the exhibition Wang Guangyi: Art and People. Paintings by Wang Guangyi at Galerie Urs Meile, Lucerne - Beijing.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

The Girl From Baltimore

The Fleshtones... The Girl From Baltimore (.mp3 audio 02:31).

Daddy Put The Bomp

Ducks Deluxe... Daddy Put The Bomp (.mp3 audio 04:44).

Chicago Bowlers

Yvette Marie Dostatni... Chicago Bowlers. From Photographs by Yvette Marie Dostatni. "...Yvette Marie Dostatni is a 31-year-old Chicago native who has been photographing professionally since the age of 18. Her work has appeared in SPIN, Smart Money magazine, Shape magazine and National Geographic. She is a frequent contributer to the Chicago Tribune Magazine, Chicago Magazine and The Chicago Reader."

Historical Marker: Photographs Along the Lewis and Clark Trail

Justin Newhall... Historical Marker: Photographs Along the Lewis and Clark Trail. "...Justin Newhall is a Minnesota-based photographer and educator. He attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (BFA, 1994) and the University of Minnesota (MFA, 1998). He currently teaches at the University of Minnesota and at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul. Newhall has exhibited both nationally and internationally, and his work is in numerous public and private collections. He is the recipient of several major fellowships, including the McKnight Photography Fellowship, the Jerome Foundation Fellowship, and the Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship."

Dulce Pinzón: Superheroes

Dulce Pinzón: Superheroes. "...This project consist of 20 color photographs of Mexican immigrants dressed in the costumes of popular American and Mexican superheroes. Each photo will picture the worker/superhero in their work environment, and will be accompanied by a short text including the worker’s name, their hometown in Mexico, the number of years they have been working in New York, and the amount of money they send to Mexico each week."

Monday, July 24, 2006

Beers Around the World

Lost Art Presents... Beers Around the World. (br) I'd like to try Iquana Cerveza from Argentina.

Y5/P5

Le site à Y5/P5. "...Mis en ligne par Popay', voici le site à Y5/P5, dessinateur Punk et jusqu'au-boutiste du 'graphzine.' Le site présente pour l'instant 15 double-pages de ses fabuleux carnets. C'est peu au vu de la riche production de son créateur. La suite, vite !" Many thanks to Omer at LeWub. (fr) Also... Raw Vision #28... The Manic Vision Of Y5/P5 - John Maizels pays a visit to one of the brash new breed of French outisders, who combines comic book formats with intense personal vision.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Florence Henri

Portrait Composition Florence Henri... Portrait Composition (1930, Fotografia, Stampa ai sali d'argento del 1977, Es.3/9, a recto firmata in basso a destra). From a small collection of Photographs by Florence Henri at Galleria dell'Incisione in Brescia, Italy.

I Wanna Be Sedated

Shonen Knife... I Wanna Be Sedated (.mp3 audio 02:40).

Taiji Matsue: Landscape

Taiji Matsue: Landscape at Cohen Amador Gallery. "...By looking down from a raised position, Matsue evokes the impression of aerial photographs and creates a visual separation between the observer and the image. The sense of separation is simultaneously reinforced by the uniformly grey values which, in their differentiated harmony, endow the photographs with the monochrome tones of a landscape viewed from a great distance. In the case of urban landscapes, Matsue wipes out any definition of place and time even where urban planning and architecture appear to provide grounds for defining a particular location."

Daughters of DADA

Daughters of DADA at Francis M. Naumann Fine Art. "...The American woman is the most intelligent woman in the world today—the only one that always knows what she wants, and therefore always gets it. Hasn’t she proved it by making her husband in his role of slave-banker look almost ridiculous in the eyes of the whole world? Not only has she intelligence but a wonderful beauty of line is hers possessed by no other woman of any race at the present time.
And this wonderful intelligence, which makes the society of her equally brilliant sisters of sufficient interest to her without necessarily insisting on the male element protruding in her life, is helping the tendency of the world today to completely equalize the sexes, and the constant battle between them in which we have wasted our best energies in the past will cease." - Marcel Duchamp, 1915

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Villas on the Hudson

Residence of S. D. Babcock, Riverdale (1860, photolithograph) and Architectural Plan (1860, lithograph). From Villas on the Hudson - a collection of photo-lithographs of thirty-one country residences (1860). Part of the collection Streetscape and Townscape of Metropolitan New York City, 1860-1942 at the NYPL Digital Gallery. "...Several hundred prints and photographs offering the complete content of a wide range of selected image collections and illustrated monographs: Hudson River mansions, including Washington Irving's home and vicinity in the 1860s; street views by Alice Austen from 1896; a panorama of Fifth Avenue from 1911, and more."

Letters to Sala

Letters to Sala Letters to Sala at the New York Public Library. "...At age sixteen, Sala Garncarz entered the Nazi labor camp system, where she would be imprisoned from 1940 to 1945. During that time she was able to collect and preserve a collection of 300 letters sent to her by friends and family from outside and within the camps. The letters were recently donated to the Library's Dorot Jewish Division by Sala's daughter, Ann Kirschner, and form the basis for the exhibition, in which they will be displayed for the first time. In passionate terms, the letters document the harsh consequences of the Nazi slave labor system on both the interred Jews and their torn families. They also reflect Sala’s relationship with such noteworthy figures as Ala Gartner, one of four women hanged in Auschwitz after participating in an armed rebellion. Letters to Sala will reveal rare documentation of Nazi atrocities written by the victims of those events during the time they were unfolding."

Monday, July 17, 2006

Experimental Friends: Nathan Lerner and Edmund Teske

Nathan Lerner... Girl with Two Faces (1932, Gelatin silver print). From Experimental Friends: Nathan Lerner and Edmund Teske at Stephen Daiter Gallery in Chicago, IL. "...Chicago-born Edmund Teske and Nathan Lerner began photographing in the streets of their native city in the early 1930s and each has a wonderful body of work rich in affectionate social documentation and rewarding in the formal qualities of design and technical execution. As the years went by, both artists largely abandoned classical representation to become major exponents of increasingly experimental approaches to this expanding medium."

Peeping Tom

Images Journal... Peeping Tom. "...When Peeping Tom was released in England in 1960, it was greeted with widespread critical condemnation. Reactions were so hostile that the distributor pulled the movie from release after only a week. Derek Hill of the Tribune said, "The only really satisfactory way to dispose of Peeping Tom would be to shovel it up and flush it down the nearest sewer. Even then the stench would remain.'" Also... Roger Ebert's Review of Peeping Tom.

Fan Ho: Hong Kong, 1952-1964

Fan Ho: Hong Kong, 1952-1964 at Laurence Miller Gallery. "...Mr. Ho’s first one-person photography exhibition in New York. Born in Shanghai in 1932, his family later migrated to Hong Kong, where he began to experiment with still photography. During the next 20 years he won over 250 international awards and competitions for his experimental and unconventional photographs, and established himself as a major filmmaker. Carnal Desire, Szechuan Concubine, Taipai My Love, Lost, and Miserable Girl have all become cult classics."

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Ling long Women's Magazine: Shanghai, 1931 to 1937

Ling long Women's Magazine: Shanghai, 1931 to 1937. "...Ling long women's magazine was popular at a time of dramatic social change in Republican China. In its short run from 1931 to 1937, it was disproportionately influential. Decades later, it offers a uniquely intimate view of the lives of women in the 1930s in Shanghai, a city at the forefront of social and political change. The articles, photographs, even the advertisements, bring to life a vibrant and intriguing society in a fast-changing world."

I'm Gone

The Madd... I'm Gone (.mp3 audio 02:40). From the 7" EP THE MADD Are Left Behind on Stardumb Records.

The Little Chapel

The Little Chapel (Les Vauxbelets, St. Andrews, Guernsey). "...A work of art and a labour of love, the Little Chapel is possibly the smallest chapel in the world. It was built by Brother Déodat who started work in March 1914. His plan was to create a miniature version of the famous grotto and basilica at Lourdes in France. Guardianship of the Little Chapel now rests with Blanchelande Girls College which is run by a Charitable Trust. The Little Chapel is beautifully decorated with seashells, pebbles and colourful pieces of broken china and the College has an ongoing programme of repairs and improvements."

Maxwell Did It!: Photographing the Atlantic City Boardwalk, 1920s-1950s

Million Dollar Pier Million Dollar Pier (GE Spectacular, Daytime, June 14, 1929). From Maxwell Did It!: Photographing the Atlantic City Boardwalk, 1920s-1950s. "...Robert Chester Maxwell, the adopted son of a High Point, North Carolina artist, ran away from home as a teenager. He worked as a sign painter and eventually settled in Trenton , New Jersey . At the age of 21 he founded the R.C. Maxwell Company, specializing in billboards and other outdoor advertising spaces along the northeast corridor between Philadelphia and New York , including Times Square and Atlantic City.
In the 1920s, Maxwell established the Electric Sign Manufacturing Company in Atlantic City to create electric "spectacular" signs that were seen along the Boardwalk and on the amusement piers. Some of the most famous signs include a 50-foot tall thermometer designed for Colgate and a massive ad for Chesterfield cigarettes installed on Steel Pier, which contained over 27,000 light bulbs. At the time it was the largest sign of its kind in the world.
Maxwell thoroughly documented his advertising work, compiling a massive collection of numbered photographs that showed prospective clients the available advertising spaces in relation to their local surroundings and activity, such as nearby buildings, adjacent advertising spaces, automobile and rail traffic, and pedestrians."

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body

New York City Crime Scene (1914-1918, New York City Municipal Archives). From the exhibition Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body at the National Library of Medicine. "...Visible Proofs is about the history of forensic medicine. Over the centuries, physicians, surgeons, and other professionals have struggled to develop scientific methods that translate views of bodies and body parts into 'visible proofs' that can persuade judges, juries, and the public. At times, the power of forensics has been exceeded by the difficulty of the questions it seeks to answer. But at best, its visible proofs testify on behalf of the victims of violent crime and against the guilty—and console and inspire and amaze us."

Thursday, July 13, 2006

MM 2006

Marc Lüders... Graffiti (Marilyn) (2003, Oil on Silver gelatin print). From the exhibition MM 2006 at Galerie Andreas Baumgartl, München. "...Die Ausstellung MM 2006 ist eine internationale Gruppenausstellung, die in ähnlicher Aufbereitung bereits in London, Istanbul, Madrid und Hamburg große Erfolge gefeiert hat, und die nun ab Juni für zwei Monate erstmalig als Verkaufsausstellung in der Galerie Andreas Baumgartl zu sehen ist. Sie zeigt mit mehr als 250 Arbeiten, wie sich diverse Photographen und Künstler verschiedenster Stilrichtungen mit der Figur Marilyn Monroe, aber auch mit der Person hinter der M.M.-Fassade auseinander gesetzt haben. Wie sie damit einerseits – z.B. Andy Warhol mit seinen berühmten Farbserigraphien – so etwas wie ein Markenprodukt erschufen, und andererseits – wie beispielsweise Bert Stern mit seinen „The Last Sitting“-Aufnahmen – zu zeigen versuchten, dass es der Mensch Norma Jean ist, der die Kunstfigur Marilyn Monroe mit Leben füllt." (de)

Eladó víztoronylakás Budapesten

Margit-sziget at Dusk Margit-sziget at Dusk (Budapest, 2003) along with Assorted Photographs of Margit-sziget. From Eladó víztoronylakás Budapesten - modern and classical towers in Hungary. (hu)

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Rosa Loy: 9 Wege

Rosa Loy... Exorzismus (2006, Casein on cavnas). From the exhibition Rosa Loy: 9 Wege at David Zwirner Gallery in New York, NY. "...In her large-scale figurative paintings and intimate works on paper, Rosa Loy explores deeply personal themes: the sense of isolation and loneliness after her family’s move from her childhood village to Leipzig; the interpretation of her dreams; color symbolism; and, perhaps most importantly, the spiritual realm. Women are the key players in her paintings, yet their motives are ambiguous – discreet levels of meaning are hidden amid coded and murky symbols. In many of the works, twins or doubles appear. One figure may be Loy herself, and the double is the artist’s childhood friend with whom she was separated years ago. Loy employs three predominant settings – the post-industrial landscape around Leipzig; a domestic space (often a home, room, or studio); and a garden motif. New characters have emerged in the most recent works as these settings have grown decidedly darker and more complex."

Plastic

Samantha Wolov... Plastic.

Theme of The Milkees

Theme of The Milkees (.mp3 audio 00:29). From The Milkees of Kobe, Japan. (jp)

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Dean Reed

Dean Reed Dean Reed... Somos Revolucionarios (.mp3 audio 02:56). From the album Dean Reed N° 1 "El Cantante Prohibido" (1974, Argentinien Ediciones Discograficas Del Centro De Artes Y Ciencias CAC-3006) by Dean Reed. "...born September 22, 1938, in Denver Colorado. He went to Hollywood where he signed a record contract with Capitol Records in 1958, but his third single, 'Our Summer Romance' was so popular in South America he went to tour there. More popular than Elvis Presley, he stayed to enjoy his incredible fame in Chile, Peru, Argentina. He made albums, starred in movies and had his own television show in Buenos Aires.
He was known as Mr. Simpatia because he worked for free in barrios and prisons and protested US policy, nuclear bomb tests etc. His politics moved to the left but he never joined the Communist party. He was deported from Argentina in 1966 and ended up in Rome, where he made 'spaghetti westerns' for several years.
He made his first concert tour of the Soviet Union in 1966 and became a mega star there and in Eastern Europe. He continually got into trouble with US State Department for protesting the Vietnam War and attending International Peace Conferences. He moved to East Germany (GDR) in 1973, made numerous albums, starred in several films, and wrote and directed his own.
In June 1986 his body was found in a lake outside his home in Berlin. It is not known whether it was murder or suicide." Also... Rock Around the Bloc. Thomas Mallon reviews 'Comrade Rockstar' by Reggie Nadelson (New York Times Sunday Book Review, July 9, 2006).

Photographs by Rocky Schenck

Rocky Schenck... Family Reunion. From Photographs by Rocky Schenck at Paul Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles, CA. "...Mr. Schenck's first book, 'Rocky Schenck: Photographs,' published in the fall of 2003, sold out within a year and is now in it's second printing. The book and accompanying exhibitions received glowing reviews from coast to coast, with PDN including it in their year end round up of 'most intriguing photo books,' writing 'it is a measure of the curious strength and unity of vision of the photographs that after you've examined all…of them, you feel... that there is no other way of seeing the world than his, that there is no other photographer you'd rather be looking at.' In her review in Paper Magazine, Ann Magnuson wrote 'Schenck’s photographs seem like buried memories you can't quite recall but continue to obsess over with the hope that by doing so you will achieve that ever-elusive breakthrough, just like in therapy... they are phantasmagoric.' Artnews described Schenck's work as 'mysteriously foreboding, as though Edgar Allan Poe might have conceived it.'"

Monday, July 10, 2006

Guitar Boogie Shuffle

The Virtues... Guitar Boogie Shuffle (1959, RealAudio 02:39).

Arthur Grace: State Fair

Arthur Grace: State Fair (Digital Journalist, July 2006). "...Among the 20 million Americans drawn to state fairs throughout the country each year is award-winning photographer Arthur Grace. He was introduced to these annual gatherings while covering national elections for Time magazine in 1980, 1984, and 1988. While following presidential and vice-presidential candidates campaigning at fairs in the Midwest, he was fascinated by the diverse sights, sounds, and action. Awestruck as he watched 800 pounds of butter being sculpted into the shape of a voluptuous woman at the 1977 Minnesota State Fair, he was inspired to explore this American cultural phenomenon with his camera. But it wasn't until 2003 following a distinguished career of more than 30 years in photojournalism that he was able to pursue this documentary project."

Ludoland

Ludoland - Ludovic Debeurme's collection. (fr)

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Wild Wild Party

Charlie Feathers... Wild Wild Party (.mp3 audio 02:34). CF is the patron saint of gmtPlus9.

Portraits: Photographs by Ingar Krauss

Lens Culture... Portraits: Photographs by Ingar Krauss. "...With his black-and-white portraits of children and teenagers in Germany and Russia, Ingar Krauss reveals quietly intense moments of transformation and the emotional turmoil just below the surface of life’s thresholds. His young subjects seem to have knowledge and wisdom beyond their years. Despite the mask-like appearance each tries to project, their eyes, faces and postures reveal confusion, frustration, melancholy. They are serious, remote, sad, defiant. They have already seen too much, and the innocence lost is painfully etched into each of these images."

The Smith and Telfer Photographic Collection

The Smith and Telfer Photographic Collection at the New York State Historical Association and The Farmers' Museum. "...History doesn't tell us how Washington G. Smith first learned to take daguerreotypes. In 1850, photography was still in its infancy and the 22-year old Smith was working as a store clerk in Garrattsville, a village in the Otsego County countryside not far from Cooperstown. Perhaps an itinerant 'daguerrian artist' stopped at the store on one of his journeys through the county taking portraits of local residents. Young 'Wash' Smith might well have been fascinated by this new technology that allowed images to be captured for posterity. However Smith picked up photography, by 1852 he had joined Gerrit Olendorf, already a 'skillful and experienced' daguerreotypist, and traveled the region taking dageurreotypes. By the next year the partners felt secure enough to give up their traveling carriage in favor of a permanent studio in Cooperstown."

Friday, July 07, 2006

Bicycle Bicycle You Are My Bicycle

Be Your Own Pet... Bicycle Bicycle You Are My Bicycle (.wmp video | .mov video 02:17). From Be Your Own Pet.

Le Miss.Tic Fan Club

Le Miss.Tic Fan Club Le Miss.Tic Fan Club. "...Tout sur Miss.Tic : ses expos, ses livres, les , ses signatures, les photos, les articles de presse, etc......" (fr) Also... Nouveaux pochoirs 2006 at MissTic in Paris.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

I Think This Is A Real Dogfight

Rodriguez... I Think This Is A Real Dogfight (.mp3 audio 02:17). From Rodriguez - garage punk from Carinthia, Austria.

Commode Creations: The Artwork of Barney Smith

Commode Creations: The Artwork of Barney Smith (2005, directed by Danny Bourque). "...Barney Smith, an 80+ year old resident of Alamo Heights, Texas, has decorated nearly 700 toilet seats which he displays in his garage-altered 'museum' for all the world to see." From Slamdance: Anarchy.

Works by Ilse Bing

Self-portrait Ilse Bing... Self-portrait (Paris, 1931, Gelatin-silver print). From Works by Ilse Bing at the Victoria and Albert Museum. "...Her immediate and exclusive use of the most advanced cameras, the Leica, and her rapid success as a photographer earned her the title 'Queen of the Leica'. Living in Paris at the height of the Modernist period, Bing supported herself through commercial photography, gaining a reputation as a photojournalist on illustrated magazines such as Le Monde Illustré, and as a fashion photographer specialising in accessories for Harpers Bazaar. She also regularly exhibited her work in France, Germany and the USA."

Tokyo Blue #2

Romain Slocombe... Tokyo Blue #2 (18 x 24 cm, tirage chromogène). From Galerie Hors Sol, 4, rue Chérubini, 75002 Paris.

I Love Hara-Kiri!

I Love Hara-Kiri! "...a fansite dedicated to the great French Hara Kiri magazine of the 60s and 70s. Born in 1960, Georges Bernier, Cavanna and Fred Aristidès created the monthly satirical magazine subtitled 'Journal bête et méchant' (Stupid and evil magazine). Hara Kiri’s content aimed directly at established powers, be they political parties or institutions like the Church or the State. In 1961 and 1966 the monthly magazine was temporarily banned by the French Government. This site includes covers, some inside pages and more."

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive

Dorothea Lange... Untitled (San Francisco, California. 4/6/42). "...The family unit is kept intact in various phases of evacuation of persons of Japanese ancestry. Above is a view at Wartime Civil Control Administration station, 2020 Van Ness Avenue, on April 6, 1942, when first group of 664 was evacuated from San Francisco. The family unit likewise is preserved at War Relocation Authority centers where evacuees will spend the duration." From the Japanese American Relocation Digital Archive (JARDA).

Janesville's Past

Lowell "Bud" Gruver... Tank Battalion Parade (1924, Janesville, WI). "...1924 photo of a parade that includes the 32nd Tank Company (with their tanks) driving down East Milwaukee Street when East Milwaukee was a brick street. Roy E. Bull's shoe store, Krueger Hardware, Cunningham's Insurance Company, drug stores, ice cream stores, women and men in hats are all included in the photo." From Janesville's Past at the University of Wisconsin. "...Janesville, located in southern Wisconsin near the Illinois border, was settled in 1835, making it one of the earliest communities in the state. In 2005, it was Wisconsin's 11th largest city and one of the fastest growing in the 1990s. Its 2000 population was 60,200. Thirty-nine percent of the total Rock County population lives in Janesville. The photographs digitized on this Web site present views of Janesville from its earliest days in the 1840s to the 1980's."

Monday, July 03, 2006

Haze

Haze Trailer for Haze (.mp4 video, 2005, Kaijyu Theater, directed by Shinya Tsukamoto). "...A man wakes up to find himself locked in a tiny, cramped concrete room, in which he can barely move. Why is he there and where did he come from? All we know is that he has a terrible stomach injury and is slowly bleeding to death. He begins to explore the narrow confines of his prison and crawls around the maze-like room, only to see a horrible vision of hell waiting for him at each end of the room." From Shinya Tsukamoto. (jp) Also... a teaser page for Akumu Tantei (Nightmare Detective), Tsukamoto's next film - due next spring.

Works by László Moholy-Nagy

László Moholy-Nagy... Eifersucht (Jealousy, 1927, collage with photographic/photo-mechanical and drawn elements, Museum Purchase; ex-collection Sybil Moholy-Nagy). From Works by László Moholy-Nagy at the George Eastman House Still Photograph Archive.

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Shepard Fairey - Obey

Shepard Fairey - Obey Shepard Fairey (aka Obey Giant)... Untitled (2006, collage and stencil). From Shepard Fairey - Obey, a show of solo works by Shepard Fairey at Galerie Magda Danysz in Paris. "...The visual codes used by Shepard Fairey, aka Obey Giant, are worthy of those of Stalinist propaganda, but here they highlight the mechanisms of advertising propaganda which invade public space. Currently based in Los Angeles, Fairey's rising success has helped transform his once homemade Xerox style into lush multi-colored screen prints."

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Tetsuo - The Iron Man

Tetsuo - The Iron Man (First 8 minutes, .wmp video 07:17, directed by Shinya Tsukamoto). "...Somewhere between a modern-day nightmare and a techno-fetishist's ultimate fantasy, a young man gradually mutates into a metal being. A surreal black-and-white journey into a dark and disturbing world where self-inflicted body transformations and post-human women form the fabric of a strange new reality." Also... An Itch to Scratch (.wmp video 03:51). A clip from Tetsuo - The Iron Man.

Ramune Pigagaite: Portraits of Writers

Ramune Pigagaite: Portraits of Writers. "...Union of Lithuanian Art Photographers and Goethe Institut Vilnius present the exhibition of Ramune Pigagaite 'Portraits of Writers.'"

The Atlantics

The Atlantics... Flight Of The Surf Guitar (.mp3 audio 02:38). From The Atlantics - Australia's legendary surf instrumental band!