Monday, July 28, 2008

Midnight Cowboy

Martin Denny... Midnight Cowboy (1969, Liberty 56126 .mp3 audio 02:21). From Probe is Turning-on the People!

Luis Tapia ¡Orale!

Luis Tapia... The Seven Deadly Sins (Carved and painted wood). From the exhibition Luis Tapia ¡Orale! at Owings-Dewey Fine Art in Santa Fe, NM. "...In the exhibition catalogue, Lucy Lippard writes: 'As a New Mexican santero, Tapia is famous for breaking away from stylistic confinement while maintaining cultural continuity. He has disrupted the expectations of his genre while creating an art responsive to its own times, a complex task acknowledging and exploring the contradictions of modern life, or la vida loca. The vatos who populate his work are not saints, but they bear saints tattooed on their bodies, printed on their t-shirts and on their minds, whatever else may be blocking their paths toward sanctity. Their lives are often as tragic as those of the beleaguered religious, and Tapia celebrates them for their survival, their spirit, their existence.'"

Dalí: Painting and Film

Dalí: Painting and Film at MoMA. "...Bringing together more than 130 paintings, drawings, scenarios, and films by Salvador Dalí (1904–1989), this exhibition explores the role that cinema played in the artist's work. Both an inspiration and an outlet for experimentation, film was Dalí's passion, and cinematic vision became a model for his own work. Collaborations between Dalí and legendary filmmakers are displayed alongside his paintings and other works, illuminating the ways in which ideas, iconography, and pictorial strategies are shared and transformed across mediums."

Edith Maybin: The Tenby Document

Edith Maybin: The Tenby Document at Edwynn Houk Gallery in New York. "...The Tenby Document is an intimate exploration of the interactions between mother and daughter, and the discovery of the 'self' through another. In 2005, Maybin began to photograph herself and her daughter in a house in the town of Tenby, Wales. Playfully reenacting stories within their enclosed setting, Maybin photographed mother and child separately and in the same position, often bridging the gap between them by digitally reassembling their bodies into a single figure. The structured Marks and Spencer undergarments featured in the photographs link the two models to the tradition of Maybin’s own mother, further blurring the lines that distinguish one generation from another." More Works by Edith Maybin at her personal site.

Antarctica Mon Amour

Lost Art presents... Antarctica Mon Amour - Hunting the Hunters: Sea Shepherd's First Antarctic Expedition.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Too Many Creeps

Bush Tetras... Too Many Creeps (.mp3 audio 03:52).

Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore

Mark Leckey... Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (1999) at UBUWEB. "...Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore uses found and original footage of discos and raves across Britain during the 70s, 80s and 90s. Details of clothing, technology, music and other cultural references surface briefly like uncanny folklore as the film explores a culture of collective leisure and consumption."

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Daumier et ses héritiers

Le Ventre législatif Honoré Daumier... Le Ventre législatif. Aspects des bancs ministériels de la chambre improstituée de 1834 (Lithographie, état unique, avec la lettre. 1834. Détail de l'épreuve sur blanc provenant du dépôt légal. 28 x 43,1 cm. Delteil 131. Publiée dans L'Association mensuelle de janvier 1834). From the exhibition Daumier et ses héritiers at La Bibliothèque nationale de France. (fr)

Works by Lisette Model

Works by Lisette Model at Zabriskie Gallery in New York. "...Lisette’s first photographic series in 1936, Promenade des Anglais, demonstrated her already-mature ability to capture the brilliant vitality of her subjects. The series captures people on the street in states of distress and repose. Recognizing her talent, Ralph Steiner arranged her first show at MoMA and published her photos in PM magazine. She had garnered the attention of Edward Steichen, who ensured her place at MoMA. She spent the 40s working for Harper’s Bazaar and much of the remainder of her life teaching at the New School for Social Research. Among her pupils were Diane Arbus, whose work bears Model’s stamp of influence. Lisette Model died in 1983 in New York."

J. Robert Taylor: Milwaukee's First Photojournalist

J. Robert Taylor: Milwaukee's First Photojournalist at the WHS. "...'It might be fun to make pictures.' Those were the initial thoughts of John Robert Taylor (1876-1959), the first photographer for the Milwaukee Journal, upon taking the job in 1909. Although he had no formal training in newspaper photography, Taylor had a successful 37-year career at the Journal. He documented events ranging from catastrophic fires to lazy summer days on the shores of Lake Michigan. Taylor's one-man photo department helped to shape modern photojournalism."

Monday, July 21, 2008

Batters | Kroll | Weegee

Untitled (Next Showing) Weegee... Untitled (Next Showing) (ca. 1950s, Gelatin silver print, Stamped on back). From the exhibition Batters | Kroll | Weegee - photographs from the collection of Eric Kroll at Anna Kustera Gallery in New York. "...Widely known for his 1994 coffee table book 'Fetish Girls' published by Taschen – which has sold over 200,000 copies – Kroll particularly enjoys other photographers who share his passion, among them Elmer Batters (1919-1997) and Weegee (1899-1968), who he began collecting in the '80s and '90s, respectively. Batters, a foot-fetish pioneer starting in the 1950s, helped make the formerly closeted field of sexual interest more acceptable, even fashionable and hip. Weegee, on the other hand, who is known primarily for his tabloid photographs of New York crime scenes and urban grit, found his natural habitat in the lower depths."

Sidney D. Gamble Photographs

Sidney D. Gamble Photographs at Duke University Libraries Digital Collections. "...From 1908 to 1932, Sidney Gamble (1890-1968) visited China four times, traveling throughout the country to collect data for social-economic surveys and to photograph urban and rural life, public events, architecture, religious statuary, and the countryside. A sociologist, renowned China scholar, and avid amateur photographer, Gamble used some of the pictures to illustrate his monographs. The Sidney D. Gamble Photographs digital collection marks the first comprehensive public presentation of this large body of work that includes photographs of Korea, Japan, Hawaii, San Francisco, and Russia."

Off The Map

Off The Map - a look at backyard paradises created by visionary artists around the world.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Lou Reed's Berlin

Lou Reed's Berlin - a film by Julian Schnabel.

Totally Rad: New York in the 80s

Jean-Michel Basquiat... Untitled (Car) (1987, acrylic and oilstick on canvas). From the exhibition Totally Rad: New York in the 80s at Paul Kasmin Gallery.

Asako Narahashi: half awake and half asleep in the water

Asako Narahashi: half awake and half asleep in the water at Yossi Milo Gallery. "...Asako Narahashi's series half awake and half asleep in the water is a collection of C-Prints of various coastal sites in Japan. Since beginning the project in 2001, the artist has photographed over fifty locations with a Nikonos 35mm waterproof film camera. Narahashi floats chest deep in the ocean while facing back towards the shore, her camera held half-submerged in the water. By watching the waves without using the viewfinder, the artist times her pictures according to the swells of the ocean tide."

Frida Kahlo and the Mexican Renaissance

Frida Kahlo and the Mexican Renaissance Frida Kahlo and the Mexican Renaissance at Throckmorton Fine Art in New York. "...Frida Kahlo and the Mexican Renaissance offers a number of striking portraits of Frida Kahlo, and brackets these portraits with other works of photographs from this exciting and fertile period in Mexico. As talented and socially prominent artists, Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera were frequently the subjects of photographers the couple knew—and helped inspire. The exhibit includes photographs by Paul Strand, Edward Weston, Tina Modotti, Hugo Brehme, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Nickolas Muray, and Emmy Lou Packard."

Monday, July 14, 2008

Nakadai at Film Forum

Trailer for Harakiri starring Tatsuya Nakadai (QuickTime Video, 1962, directed by Masaki Kobayashi). Part of Nakadai at Film Forum in New York. "...Film Forum pays tribute to the venerable leading man's anguished intensity, expansive range, and matinee-idol looks. The 27-film retrospective of one of the most distinguished careers in Japanese cinema is as good a primer on post-war Japanese film as one could ask for."

In Our Dreams

In Our Dreams - A Group Show of Color and Black & White Photographs at Sasha Wolf Gallery in New York.

Works by Mark Gleason

Works by Mark Gleason at La Luz de Jesus Gallery. "...Mark Gleason’s figurative oil on canvas pieces all share a common theme: the protagonists have relationships with an animal ‘familiar.’ “I have a resonance with solitary places, particular animals and to the human figure. My painting is shaped by film and music, as well as by psychology, philosophy and literature."

Picture Paradise: Asia–Pacific Photography, 1840s–1940s

André Roosevelt... Legong Dancer, Bali (Ni Pollok, aged about 11, later the model and wife of Belgian painter in Bali, A J. Le Mayeur, 1928, gelatin silver photograph). From the exhibition Picture Paradise: Asia–Pacific Photography, 1840s–1940s at the National Gallery of Australia. "...This significant gathering of over four hundred original photographs and albums includes gem-like daguerreotype portraits, mass-produced views and portraits on paper made possible by the revolutionary wet-plate and dry-plate glass negative-positive process, and prints from the modern era of small format film cameras and photojournalism."

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Don't You Hear Me Calling, Baby

Ronnie Haig... Don't You Hear Me Calling, Baby (1958, Note 10010 .mp3 audio 02:47).

Maggie Taylor: Alice and Everything After

Maggie Taylor: Alice and Everything After at Verve Gallery of Photography. "...Maggie Taylor was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1961, and graduated from Yale University in 1983 with a BA degree in philosophy. In 1987 she received an MFA in photography from the University of Florida. After ten years of creating vibrant color still-life images with a view camera, Taylor began to work with the computer in 1996. By placing objects directly on the glass top of the scanner she is able to create a unique type of digital image that has some photographic qualities. Many of the images feature portions of her drawings, as well as found objects and bits of old tintype photographs."

Works by Joel-Peter Witkin

Works by Joel-Peter Witkin at Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago, IL. Photographic Works and The History of Hats in Art.

New Paintings by Eddie Martinez

New Paintings by Eddie Martinez at Galleri Loyal in Stockholm, Sweden. "...Eddie Martinez was born in 1977 and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. His most recent exhibition of paintings at ZieherSmith, New York was met with wide acclaim. His paintings and drawings have been featured in shows at the Athens Biennial, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, Deitch Projects, New York, and Peres Projects, Berlin among others."

Devo: Mongoloid

Devo: Mongoloid (Flash Video 03:38). Directed by Bruce Conner. RIP: Bruce Conner.

Monday, July 07, 2008

I Won't Grow Up

Camper Misaki Kawai... Camper (2008, Acrylic, fabric, cardboard, styrofoam, wood). From the exhibition I Won't Grow Up at Cheim & Read Gallery. "...The exhibition will include works by Donald Baechler, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Brian Belott, Louise Bourgeois, Jared Buckheister, Brendan Cass, E.V. Day, Phillip Estlund, Mark Fox, Beka Goedde, Gary Hume, Chantal Joffe, Chapman Brothers, Jonathan Hammer, Mike Kelley, Misaki Kawai, Jeff Koons, Tim Liddy, McDermott & McGough, Ryan McGinley, Paul Morrison, Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, Djordje Ozbolt, Kembra Pfahler, George Stoll, Angela Strassheim, Andy Warhol and Rob Wynne."

Down Down

Os Baobás... Down Down (.mp3 audio 02:13). From Garage Hangover - The site for 1960's garage bands.

Gallery of Chinese Propaganda Posters, 1937-2008

Gallery of Chinese Propaganda Posters, 1937-2008. "...167 Highlights from the collections of the International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, and Stefan R. Landsberger (University of Amsterdam, Leiden University)."

Battered - Photographs by Harri Pälviranta

Lens Culture... Battered - Photographs by Harri Pälviranta. "...Like a modern-day Weegee, Harri Palviranta cruises the night streets of Finland, armed with his Hasselblad camera and a big flash, looking for a fight to photograph, or the bloodied face of a drunken party-goer, or the scene of a recent brawl.
Drunken public violence is an increasing occurrence among the young and restless in many parts of contemporary Finnish society. Weekend parties often lead to intoxication, loosened inhibitions, random physical aggression and bloody violence." More Works by Harri Pälviranta at his personal site.

Ray Caesar: In the Garden of Moonlight

Ray Caesar: In the Garden of Moonlight at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York. "...In The Garden of Moonlight is a collection of beautifully bizarre images, in which Caesar expands upon his signature style. A hauntingly captivating cast of doll-like figures are depicted with physical abnormalities, dressed in costumes from both the past and future, fashioned from deep within the artist’s own whimsical imagination. They appear in elaborate Rococo style interiors, peering at the observer with the innocence of a child, yet also possessing an underlying awareness of dark truths—their inner strength and courage seemingly in contrast with the fragility of their physical appearance. These characters are messengers, or spirit guides from another realm. Caesar offers them a window into ours, where he has created a safe place beyond the cruelty of humanity. They arrive carrying clues with them, layered in mystery and meaning, trusted only to eyes sensitive enough to witness."

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Weeping Willow

Blind Boy Fuller... Weeping Willow (1937, .mp3 audio 03:09).

Frida & Diego, A Personal Memoir, Photographs by Lucienne Bloch

Frida & Diego, A Personal Memoir, Photographs by Lucienne Bloch at Scott Nichols Gallery in San Francisco, CA. "...Lucienne Bloch and Frida Kahlo met in New York City in 1931. Originally hired by Diego Rivera as an assistant to grind colors for his political frescoes, Bloch was befriended by Kahlo and quickly developed a kinship and strong bond with her. Their independent spirits and shared scorn for the social dichotomy of the Depression era in which they lived inspired Bloch to hide her Leica in her blouse, and steal past security guards at The Rockefeller Center and make the only photographic record of Rivera's controversial communist mural before it was destroyed. The photographs resulting from her three years spent traveling with Frida & Diego, reveal poignant moments between the two women and the fierce creative spirit that they shared." Also... Images of Mexico - Photographs by Lola Alvarez Bravo, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Imogen Cunningham, Tina Modotti, Paul Strand, Brett Weston, Edward Weston, and Reid Yalom.

GUTAI - 5 Videos, 1956-1962

GUTAI - 5 Videos, 1956-1962. "...Japanese avant-garde group. Gutai Bijutsu Kyokai (Gutai Art Association) was formed in 1954 in Osaka by Yoshihara Jiro, Kanayma Akira, Murakami Saburo, Shiraga Kazuo, and Shimamoto Shozo. The word has been translated into English as 'embodiment' or 'concrete'. Yoshihara was an older artist around whom the group coalesced and who financed it. In their early public exhibitions in 1955 and 1956 Gutai artists created a series of striking works anticipating later Happenings and Performance and Conceptual art. Shiraga's Challenge to the Mud 1955, in which the artist rolled half naked in a pile of mud, remains the most celebrated event associated with the group."

The Death of My Little Dead Dick

PingMag... The Death of My Little Dead Dick. "...My Little Dead Dick is no longer!, cries the online photo community. What? To recall the love romance 2.0 that rose to blogger fame: In the Summer of 2006, photographers Madi Ju from China and Patrick Tsai, an American living in Taiwan met online, hooked up in Macau and after a couple of days, arranged to start a new life together as a photographer couple in China. Their photo diary called My Little Dead Dick, also on their Flickr site [restricted access] exhibited flirty moments of love, friendship, and (party) life in burgeoning China. Sadly, they broke up recently and MLDD is now defunct… However, Patrick Tsai just visited Japan and PingMag grabbed him to find out about his new projects."

Friday, July 04, 2008

CADILLAC: Photographs by Stephen Salmieri

CADILLAC CADILLAC: Photographs by Stephen Salmieri at Joseph Bellows Gallery in La Jolla, CA. "...Perhaps no other car has so symbolized or embodied the notion of 'The American Dream' as Cadillac. From 1972 to 1984, Stephen Salmieri traveled the United States, from New York to Beverly Hills, photographing Cadillacs. In over eighty pictures, he captured the evolution of an American automotive icon. This photographic journey concluded in 1985 with the publication of Cadillac: An American Icon, published by Rizzoli International Publications. In the introduction to the book Owen Edwards writes, 'The Cadillac is no more just another car than San Simeon is just another house: it is the machine as ultimate symbol, as a way of life, a philosophical statement, a form of patriotism even – for more than a few Cadillac zealots – something very close to a religious experience.'"

Zhang Huibin: The Charm of the Countryside

Zhang Huibin: The Charm of the Countryside (45 black & white photographs) at Zone Zero. "...I hope these photos are not only seen as a record of reality, but also as my personal view of human nature, of happiness, anger, sadness and joy. My photos present the complex countryside life, nowadays struggling between the past and the present. I love my hometown, its history, land and labor life, although there is also little bit of sadness."

RKF Funeral Train - Rediscovered

Paul Fusco... Untitled (Cibachrome Print, Edition 20) from RKF Funeral Train - Rediscovered at Danziger Projects. "...On June 5th, 1968, less than three months after the murder of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles as he was campaigning for the Presidential nomination. His death shook the country to its core. To Paul Fusco and millions of other Americans it seemed to represent the end of hope.
Kennedy's body was subsequently flown to New York City for a memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral and then carried by train from New York to Washington D.C. for burial at Arlington. That final journey took place on June 8th – a swelteringly hot early summer day. On board the train was the Magnum photographer Paul Fusco, then a young photographer on assignment for LOOK Magazine. As the train made its progress down the eastern seaboard, hundreds of thousands of mourners came out to line the railway tracks and pay their final respects to Bobby Kennedy and all he stood for."